Our Private Client Services

Wills & succession planning

Intestacy

If you die without leaving a Will then your estate will pass in accordance with the Intestacy Rules and not necessarily in accordance with your wishes. This may result in relatives whom you would not wish to benefit taking a share, particularly where there are complicated family circumstances. If you have no relatives, then your estate will pass to the Crown.

A grant of Letters of Administration is required when someone dies intestate, without having made a Will. Any of the beneficiaries who may inherit in accordance with the Intestacy Rules will be entitled to obtain the grant and deal with the administration.

The Intestacy Rules provide for distribution of your estate in the following way:

Married or in a registered Civil Partnership (not "living together") with children:

Spouse receives personal possessions and a statutory legacy of £250,000 together with a life interest in half of the rest of the estate.
The other half passes to the children at 18 years or earlier marriage. The children will receive the half in which the spouse had a life interest when the spouse dies.

Married or in a registered Civil Partnership (not "living together"), no children but parents, brothers or sisters (of the whole blood), nephews or nieces:

Spouse receives personal possessions and a statutory legacy of £450,000 together with a life interest in half of the rest of the estate.
The other half passes to the parents, if none then to brothers or sisters or their children.

Married or in a registered Civil Partnership (not "living together"), no children, parents, brothers or sisters of the whole blood or nephews or nieces:

Spouse receives the whole estate.

Unmarried person with children:

Whole estate goes to children equally when they reach 18.
If a child has predeceased leaving children of their own then they will take their parent's share.

If one of your children were to have died before you then their children will take your deceased child's share.

Unmarried person with no children:

Whole estate goes to parents.
If none, to brothers or sisters of the whole blood or their issue.
If none, to siblings of the half blood or their issue.
If none, to grandparents.
If none, to uncles and aunts of the whole blood or their issue.
If none, to uncles and aunts of the half blood or their issue.
If there are no parents, siblings (whole or half blood), issue of siblings, grandparents, uncles or aunts (whole or half blood), or issue of uncles or aunts the estate goes to the Crown.

If you are divorced, consider yourself to be "common law" partners (there is no such legal state) or your civil partnership has not been solemnized or if your Will is invalid then your estate will be divided in accordance with the Intestacy Rules. No matter how simple you consider your affairs to be, everyone should have a Will to avoid unnecessary upset on death.

For a no-obligation discussion, call us on 0845 833 9025

We've listed the areas we can advise on in detail but we don't want to waste your valuable time. If you're not sure whether we can help, just email us or call on 0845 833 9025. We're happy to have a look at your issues and confirm if we can help.