I die without a will. Who inherits my estate?

What the Law Says

The Administration of Estates Act 1925 sets out who inherits your property if you die without a valid will (intestate) in England and Wales. Section 46 is the core provision governing the distribution of your estate.

Under the rules of intestacy, your estate passes to your closest living relatives in a fixed order. Your spouse or civil partner has priority — but how much they receive depends on whether you have surviving children, grandchildren, or other close relatives.

If you have no children, your spouse or civil partner inherits your entire estate. If you do have children, your spouse receives your personal possessions, the first £322,000 (known as the 'statutory legacy'), and half of the remaining estate outright; the other half is held in trust for your children, who inherit it at age 18.

If you have no spouse or civil partner, your estate passes to your children equally. If a child has died before you but left children of their own (your grandchildren), those grandchildren inherit their parent’s share.

If there are no children, the estate goes to your parents equally — or to the surviving parent. If no parents survive, it passes to your siblings (or their children, if a sibling has died). More distant relatives — such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins — may inherit only if no closer relatives exist.

Statutory Text

Where a person dies intestate, having left a spouse or civil partner and issue, the spouse or civil partner shall be entitled to the personal chattels of the deceased, the statutory legacy, and a life interest in one-half of the residue of the estate.

— Administration of Estates Act 1925, s. 46 — Intestacy

What to Do

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