Who Inherits When There’s No Will? Intestacy Rules England and Wales

When someone dies without a valid will in England and Wales, the intestacy rules determine who inherits their estate. These rules — set out in the Administration of Estates Act 1925 as amended by the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 — establish a strict hierarchy of beneficiaries based entirely on family relationships. The rules make no allowance for close friends, unmarried partners, step-children (unless legally adopted), or anyone the deceased may have wished to benefit but failed to name in a will. The outcome can be deeply unfair and almost always differs from what the deceased would have wanted had they taken the time to make a will.

Dying intestate — the legal term for dying without a will — affects more estates in England and Wales than many people realise. Research suggests that approximately 60% of adults in the UK do not have a current, valid will. For families with complex structures — unmarried couples, blended families, estranged relatives — the consequences of intestacy can be devastating, leaving partners without a home and children from previous relationships in dispute with new spouses.

This guide explains the intestacy rules as they apply in 2026, who takes priority under the statutory order, what a surviving spouse or civil partner receives, and how the rules interact with probate and estate administration. For the full picture of administering an intestate estate, see our guides to the probate process and estate administration. For the specific rules on intestacy, see our dedicated guide.

What Are the Intestacy Rules?

The intestacy rules create a fixed order of priority for who inherits when there is no will. They are not discretionary — the administrator of the estate (who applies for letters of administration rather than probate, since there is no will appointing an executor) must distribute the estate in accordance with the statutory order. The administrator is typically the highest-priority beneficiary under the rules, though any person with a beneficial interest in the estate may apply to the Probate Registry to be appointed.

The hierarchy under s.46 Administration of Estates Act 1925 runs broadly as follows: first, a surviving spouse or civil partner (subject to conditions); then children; then parents; then siblings; then half-siblings; then grandparents; then aunts and uncles; then half-aunts and -uncles. If none of these relatives survive the deceased, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia. HMRC publishes the current rules on who inherits if someone dies without a will on GOV.UK.

The Spouse and Civil Partner: First in Line

Under the intestacy rules as amended in 2014, a surviving spouse or civil partner takes priority over all other relatives, subject to the parties having been legally married or in a civil partnership at the date of death. A long-term cohabiting partner has no entitlement under the intestacy rules, however long the relationship lasted. Divorce extinguishes a former spouse’s intestacy rights; separation without divorce does not.

Where the deceased leaves a surviving spouse or civil partner and no children or remoter issue, the surviving spouse inherits the entire estate outright. This is a significant change from the position before 2014, when even a surviving spouse without children received only the personal chattels, a statutory legacy, and an interest in part of the remainder. The current rules are much simpler and more generous to spouses in straightforward estates.

What Does a Surviving Spouse Receive When There Are Also Children?

The position becomes more complex where the deceased leaves both a surviving spouse and children. In that scenario, under the rules as amended in 2014, the surviving spouse receives: all personal chattels (household furniture, vehicles, and personal effects); a statutory legacy of £322,000 (the current figure as of 2026, index-linked to inflation); and half of the residuary estate above that figure. The other half of the residuary estate passes equally to the children absolutely.

This division can create practical difficulties. If the main asset is the family home, the surviving spouse may receive the statutory legacy and their share of the remainder, but the children’s share may be insufficient to purchase the property from the estate without forcing a sale. In practice, many families negotiate arrangements between themselves, but these negotiations require all adult beneficiaries to agree and cannot override the statutory entitlements without a formal deed of variation. See our intestacy rules guide for a detailed walkthrough of the figures and the practical implications.

Children’s Inheritance Under the Intestacy Rules

Where the deceased leaves no surviving spouse or civil partner, the entire estate passes to the children in equal shares. Where the deceased leaves both a surviving spouse and children, the children share equally in the residue above the spouse’s entitlements, as described above. Children inherit at the age of 18 or on earlier marriage; until then, their share is held on a statutory trust.

The term children in this context means biological or legally adopted children only. Stepchildren — even those the deceased raised from infancy — do not benefit under the intestacy rules unless they were formally adopted. This is one of the most common areas of injustice in intestacy cases, and it is a powerful reason why blended families in particular should ensure everyone has a properly drafted will.

Other Relatives: The Wider Order

If the deceased leaves no surviving spouse or children, the estate passes up the statutory order to parents (equally, if both survive), then to siblings of the whole blood in equal shares (with their children taking by representation if a sibling has predeceased), then to siblings of the half blood, grandparents, aunts and uncles of the whole blood, and finally aunts and uncles of the half blood. At each tier, if none of that category survives, the next tier takes. Any tier that includes living members takes the entire estate; there is no sharing between tiers.

Where the estate passes to a relative who has predeceased the intestate, that relative’s children take by representation — that is, in the place their parent would have occupied. This prevents the estate from automatically jumping to the next tier simply because one person in the current tier has died before the intestate.

Applying for Letters of Administration

To deal with an intestate estate, the administrator must apply to the Probate Registry for letters of administration rather than a grant of probate. The process is broadly similar to applying for probate — the administrator must complete an IHT return (or confirmation that none is required) and submit an application to the Probate Registry — but there is no will to submit and the grant names an administrator rather than an executor. The court fee for obtaining a grant in 2026 is £300 for estates above £5,000. Administrators have the same duties and the same personal liability as executors; the distinction is in their source of authority.

Written by Simon Jenkins, SRA 167489, Solicitor at Curtis Legal Limited (SRA 450129). If you are dealing with an intestate estate and need guidance, call freephone 0800 214 216 or request a same-day callback.