Intestacy rules decide who inherits an estate when there is no valid will. The answer depends on the applicable country’s rules, family relationships and which assets actually form part of the estate. In England and Wales, an unmarried partner does not inherit automatically under intestacy. Start by checking for a valid will and separating joint assets from the estate before calculating shares.
Use the official guided checker with the correct country and family details: GOV.UK: who inherits and who can apply
What information should I collect before using an intestacy checker?
Record the relevant country, marriage or civil-partnership status, children and any descendants of a child who has died. Distinguish biological or adopted children from stepchildren and note uncertain relationships for advice. Check how property is owned separately; a family tree alone does not establish which assets pass through the estate.
Example: a partner and children from an earlier relationship
A person dies without a will, leaving an unmarried partner and adult children. The partner should not assume that living together creates the same intestacy rights as marriage. Check joint ownership, nominations and any potential legal claim separately, using advice where needed before distributing assets.
The person organising the funeral is not automatically the heir
Practical responsibility, emotional closeness and the legal right to administer or inherit are different matters. Agree who is gathering information, but verify who may apply for the grant before submitting an application. Do not divide money based only on the family’s informal expectations.
Choose the next step you need
No will: understand letters of administration
Planning ahead: prepare a will rather than relying on assumptions
What are the intestacy rules in England and Wales?
A person who dies without a valid will is said to have died "intestate". Their estate (money, property and possessions) is then shared out according to a fixed order of relatives set down in section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925. The rules apply to people who were domiciled in England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems, covered further down.
The order is strict. A closer group of relatives takes everything before the next group gets anything, and the law does not look at who was emotionally closest, who provided care, or what the person may have said they wanted. GOV.UK has an inheritance checker that walks you through the questions step by step and shows who is entitled in your situation.
One thing sits outside the rules altogether. Property owned as joint tenants, such as a jointly owned home or joint bank account, normally passes straight to the surviving owner, as GOV.UK's probate guidance explains. So the intestacy rules only decide what happens to the part of the estate that was in the person's sole name or held as tenants in common.
How much does a husband, wife or civil partner inherit without a will?
For deaths on or after 26 July 2023, the figure that matters is the "statutory legacy" of £322,000, set by the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2023. No later order has changed it, so it is still the amount in force in 2026. A new order is required when consumer prices have risen by more than 15% since the last one, which is what triggered the 2023 increase.
How the statutory legacy works depends on whether the person who died had children or other descendants:
No children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren: the husband, wife or civil partner inherits the whole estate, whatever its size.
Children or other descendants, estate up to £322,000: the spouse or civil partner still inherits everything.
Children or other descendants, estate over £322,000: the spouse or civil partner receives all personal possessions, the first £322,000 and half of what is left. The other half is shared between the children.
The £322,000 also carries simple interest from the date of death until it is paid, at the Bank of England rate in force at the end of the day the person died, under section 46(1A). A separated spouse who was still legally married counts as a spouse for these rules. A divorced former spouse does not.
There is also a 28-day survival rule. If the husband, wife or civil partner dies within 28 days of the person who died, the law treats them as not having survived, under section 46(2A), and the estate passes as if there were no spouse.
What do children inherit if there is no will?
If there is no husband, wife or civil partner, the children share the whole estate equally. If there is a spouse and the estate is above £322,000, the children share half of the amount above that figure. Legally adopted children inherit in the same way as birth children; stepchildren who were never adopted have no automatic share, according to the GOV.UK inheritance checker.
If one of the children died before their parent, that child's own children step into their place and share their parent's portion. Children inherit on what the law calls the "statutory trusts": under section 47 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925, a child's share is held for them until they reach 18 or marry or form a civil partnership before then. In practice that means money for a young child is held in trust by the administrators rather than handed over straight away.
Who inherits if there is no spouse or children?
When there is no surviving spouse, civil partner or descendant, the estate moves down a set list of relatives. Each group takes everything before the next group is considered:
Parents, in equal shares.
Full brothers and sisters, with nieces and nephews taking the share of a sibling who has died.
Half-brothers and half-sisters, or their children.
Grandparents, in equal shares.
Full aunts and uncles, with cousins taking the share of an aunt or uncle who has died.
Half-aunts and half-uncles, or their children.
If none of these relatives is alive, the estate passes to the Crown as "bona vacantia" (ownerless property). In most of England and Wales the Government Legal Department handles these estates and publishes a list of unclaimed estates; GOV.UK explains how relatives can make a claim, and how people who are not relatives, such as someone who lived with or cared for the person, can apply for a discretionary grant. Relatives by marriage, such as in-laws, have no entitlement.
Do unmarried partners inherit if there is no will?
No. A partner who was not married to, or in a civil partnership with, the person who died has no automatic right to inherit under the intestacy rules, however long the relationship lasted. This is one of the hardest surprises for families and is one of the main reasons people are encouraged to make a will.
There is a route to the courts. The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 lets certain people ask a court for "reasonable financial provision" from the estate. That includes someone who lived with the person in the same household as if they were married or civil partners for the whole two years before the death, and anyone the person was maintaining financially. Claims must normally be made within six months of the grant of letters of administration, under section 4 of the Act, although a court can allow a later claim. A claim like this is a legal process with costs and uncertainty, so talking to a solicitor early is sensible.
Who deals with the estate when there is no will?
Without a will there is no executor, so someone has to apply to become the "administrator". The order of who can apply mirrors the inheritance order: the husband, wife or civil partner first, then children aged 18 or over, as set out in GOV.UK's guidance for estates without a will. An unmarried partner cannot apply in their own right.
The administrator applies for a grant of letters of administration, which is the intestacy version of probate. Before applying they must value the estate and check whether Inheritance Tax is due. The grant then lets them collect in money, pay debts and share out what is left according to the intestacy rules.
How are the intestacy rules different in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
Scotland uses a different system made up of "prior rights" and "legal rights". A surviving husband, wife or civil partner has prior rights to the family home up to £473,000, its furniture and household contents up to £29,000, and a cash sum of £50,000 if there are children or £89,000 if there are none. These amounts were set by the Prior Rights of Surviving Spouse and Civil Partner (Scotland) Order 2011 and have applied since 1 February 2012. The spouse and children then share what remains: where there are children, the GOV.UK checker shows a third going to the spouse and two-thirds to the children. Scotland also gives cohabitants a specific route: a surviving cohabitant can ask the court for provision from the estate, but must apply within six months of the death under section 29 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006.
Northern Ireland has its own figures. For deaths on or after 1 January 2008, a spouse or civil partner inherits everything if the estate is worth £250,000 or less. Above that, they receive the personal items, £250,000 (or £450,000 if there are no children) and a share of the rest: half if there is one child, a third if there is more than one, according to nidirect's guidance on dying without a will. The spouse must survive by at least 28 days, as the GOV.UK checker notes for Northern Ireland.
Can the intestacy rules be changed after a death?
Sometimes the result the law produces is not what the family feels is fair, for example where a widow inherits everything and would prefer some to go straight to the children, or where a long-term partner receives nothing. If everyone who gives up part of their inheritance agrees, a deed of variation can redirect it. Made in writing within two years of the death and with the right statement, it is treated for Inheritance Tax as if the person who died had arranged it that way, under section 142 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984.
Every family's situation is different, and estates involving young children, property abroad, a business or a family dispute are worth taking to a solicitor or other regulated adviser.
What should an unmarried partner check before making assumptions about the estate?
Separate inheritance from ownership of jointly held assets, pensions and insurance benefits. These can involve different rules and documents. The intestacy position also depends on the UK jurisdiction. Get advice where your home, financial support or entitlement is uncertain rather than relying on a general family-tree example.
Prepare for the next conversation
List the home’s ownership documents and any known will.
Record pension and insurance contacts separately from estate assets.
Take unanswered questions about your position to an appropriate adviser.
Related next steps: Check pension benefits through the scheme’s own process; Understand why insurance ownership can matter separately.
Frequently asked questions: Intestacy rules
Does a wife automatically inherit everything without a will?
In England and Wales, only if there are no children or other descendants, or if the estate is worth £322,000 or less. Above that, she receives personal possessions, £322,000 and half the rest, and the children share the other half.
Do stepchildren inherit under the intestacy rules?
No. Only biological and legally adopted children inherit automatically. A stepchild who was treated as a child of the family may be able to make a claim to the court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
What happens to a jointly owned house if there is no will?
If the house was owned as joint tenants, it passes automatically to the surviving owner and is not shared out under the intestacy rules. If it was owned as tenants in common, the share of the person who died forms part of their estate.
Is the statutory legacy still £322,000 in 2026?
Yes. The £322,000 figure has applied in England and Wales since 26 July 2023, and no later order has replaced it.
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