laws of intestacy

This flowchart only applies to England & Wales. The laws of intestacy are different in Scotland and Northern Ireland. As you can see from the flowchart, who inherits your estate depends on your marital status and whether you have children. The following situations are summarised below:

• Single Person
• Living Together
• Married or in Civil Partnership - No Children
• Married or in Civil Partnership - With Children

General Rules

The following General Rules refer to the boxes in "Laws of Intestacy" diagram.

• The spouse will benefit if he/she survives the intestate by 28 days, otherwise the estate will be dealt with as if there had been no spouse (*).
• If a class of relative existed but has died, then if they had had children, those children will inherit equally what would have been their parent’s share - per stirpes (**). However, cousins are the remotest relatives that can inherit under the laws of intestacy.
• Within each class of relative, relatives of the full blood (i.e. they share the same parent) take preference over half blood (i.e. only one parent in common.)
• In-laws have no rights.
• Legally adopted children have the same rights as their adopted parent's natural children, but lose all rights to their birth parents’ Estates.
• Stepchildren and foster children have no automatic rights.
• Children born out of legal wedlock, even if their father's name is on the birth certificate, are not recognised under intestacy law. They have to go to Court if they wish to be allocated an inheritance.
• Common Law Husbands / Wives are not recognised under intestacy law. They have to go to Court if they wish to be allocated an inheritance.
• Same sex partners are not (currently) recognised under intestacy law – unless in a Civil Partnership. They have to go to court if they wish to be allocated an inheritance.
• Children may only inherit from their 18th birthday (in England & Wales).
• How beneficiaries will inherit jointly-owned assets is dependent on how that property (property, land, bank account, etc) is held.

The intestate estate will be distributed according to rules dating back to 1925 (in England & Wales). They depend on marital status, whether there are children and the surviving immediate family.

Single Person

The entire estate is distributed in the following order: (If any relative is found at a level then the “search” stops and the entire estate is either distributed to that one relative or equally distributed to the relatives found).

• Children (but if deceased then their children, if any)
• Parents
• Brothers & Sisters (but if deceased then their children, if any)
• Half Brothers & Half Sisters,
• Grandparents
• Aunts & Uncles (but if deceased then their children, if any)
• If no Cousins then it goes to the Crown (the Government).

Living Together - (Heterosexual or Same Sex)

Regardless of how long a couple have lived together, or if there are children involved, under intestacy law they are currently classed as single. Their partners have no automatic inheritance rights.

Married or in Civil Partnership - No Children

For married couples with no children the entire estate is distributed as follows:

• The surviving spouse gets the first £200,000 plus goods and all personal chattels.
• They also get half of the remainder.
• The other half is distributed to the deceased’s parents, if none then to their brothers and sisters and, if any of the brothers and sisters have died, to their children.
• However if none of the above deceased’s family are alive to inherit, the surviving spouse gets everything.

Married or in Civil Partnership - With Children

For married couples with children the entire estate is distributed as follows:

• The surviving spouse gets the first £125,000 plus goods and all personal chattels.
• Half the rest goes to the deceased's children immediately (or on trust until they are 18.)
• The other half goes to the children but the surviving spouse gets a lifetime interest. Hence they can spend the income but not touch the capital.