Who inherits if there is no will?
If you die without a will in England and Wales, the intestacy rules decide who inherits. A surviving spouse or civil partner takes your personal possessions, the first £322,000, and half of the rest; the other half is shared among your children. With no spouse, the estate goes to children, then to other relatives in a fixed order. Unmarried partners inherit nothing.
Detailed explanation
Dying without a valid will is called dying intestate. Instead of your wishes, a statutory order set by the Administration of Estates Act 1925 decides who benefits.
If you leave a spouse or civil partner and children: the spouse receives your personal chattels (belongings), a statutory legacy of £322,000, and half of anything above that. The remaining half is divided equally between your children (with a deceased child's share passing to their own children).
If you leave a spouse or civil partner but no children: the spouse inherits the entire estate.
If you leave children but no spouse: the children inherit everything, divided equally.
If you leave neither: the estate passes down a strict hierarchy — parents, then brothers and sisters (or their children), then half-siblings, grandparents, uncles and aunts. If no relatives qualify, the estate passes to the Crown (bona vacantia).
Two groups are notably excluded: unmarried partners and stepchildren who were never legally adopted. Neither inherits under intestacy no matter how close the relationship. The only way they can benefit is through a will, or by bringing a claim under the Inheritance Act 1975.
Mark dies without a will, leaving his wife Jo, two children, and an estate of £500,000. Jo receives his personal belongings, the first £322,000, and half of the remaining £178,000 (£89,000) — a total of £411,000 plus chattels. The children share the other £89,000 equally. If Mark and Jo had only lived together unmarried, Jo would have received nothing under intestacy.
Sources
- Administration of Estates Act 1925 (as amended) — legislation.gov.uk
- The Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2023 — legislation.gov.uk
- GOV.UK — Inheritance: rules when there's no will (intestacy)
- Reviewed by
- Michael Smith, Estate Planning Specialist
- Last reviewed
- June 2026
- Next review
- December 2026
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
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