What happens if you die without a Will?
What happens if you die without a Will? Well, then you are said to have died intestate, and your estate must be distributed following the rules of intestacy.
Before you go down this route, we would recommend checking if a Will has been registered with the Probate Registry here.
What are the rules of intestacy?
If you die without a Will in England and Wales, you have a spouse or civil partner at the time of death, and the estate (in your sole name) is not worth more than £322,000, your spouse or civil partner is entitled to everything. Joint assets pass by survivorship unless specific arrangements over those joint assets have been made.
Statutory Legacy sum applies if the estate value is over £322,000. Read more here.
What is the order of priority when you die without a Will?
All of the personal belongings, no matter the value of the estate, are inherited by the spouse or civil partner if there is no Will.
If you die and don’t have a spouse or civil partner but did have children, the estate would be equally split between children or your grandchildren, if they have pre-deceased.
In England and Wales, the order of priority after children is:
- Living parents
- Full-blood siblings
- Half-blood siblings
- Grandparents
- Aunts/uncles
- Half-blood aunts/uncles
If the deceased had no surviving relatives, the estate would pass to the Crown (or the relevant Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall if appropriate).
Importance of writing a Will
If you have a well-written and valid Will, you or your family won’t have to wonder what happens if you die without a Will. If a valid and up-to-date Will has been left, there is a clear outline of how the estate will be distributed, identifying beneficiaries and exactly what they will be inheriting from the estate, and what your final wishes are.
