In short
Who inherits if you die without a will in the UK, for England and Wales: the intestacy rules, not your family agreement. A spouse with children takes personal chattels, the first £322,000 and half the remainder. An unmarried partner takes nothing. Stepchildren take nothing unless adopted. Make a will if that formula is not what you want.
Dying intestate means dying without a valid will. The statute is the Administration of Estates Act 1925. The government’s own guide is gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will. This page is the intestacy cluster, not how to make a will in the UK. If you already know you need a document, start there.
Scotland and Northern Ireland have different intestacy law — do not use this table there. Jointly owned property, some pensions and some life policies sit outside intestacy. A court claim under the Inheritance Act 1975 is a last resort, not an estate plan. Figures checked 22 August 2026.
Who inherits if you die without a will at a glance?
Without a valid will in England and Wales, a spouse with children takes personal possessions, £322,000 and half the rest; the children share the other half. A spouse with no children takes everything. An unmarried partner takes nothing. Around 54–60% of UK adults have no will. The fix is a signed will, not a conversation.
£322,000
Statutory legacy for a spouse with children, in force since 26 July 2023.
£0
What an unmarried partner inherits under intestacy. No common-law marriage.
54–60%
of UK adults have no will. Sources and ranges: UK will statistics.
£35
SwiftWill once, to leave the formula behind. Mirror wills £55. Free updates for life.
What does dying intestate mean?
Dying intestate means dying without a valid will. The estate that would have passed under a will is instead distributed by a fixed legal formula — the intestacy rules — regardless of what you said at the kitchen table or what your family later agrees. A conversation is not a will.
“Valid” matters. An unsigned PDF, a will revoked by marriage, or a will that failed at signing (one witness, a beneficiary witnessing) can leave you intestate even if you thought you had sorted it. See how to sign a will and does marriage revoke a will.
Partial intestacy exists too: a will that disposes of some gifts but forgets the residue leaves the leftover to the intestacy formula. That is why a residuary clause is not optional. SwiftWill will not let you skip it.
Who inherits if you die without a will?
It depends on whether you were married or in a civil partnership, and whether you had children. A spouse with children takes personal chattels, the first £322,000 and half the remainder; the children share the other half. A spouse with no children takes everything. An unmarried partner takes nothing. Stepchildren take nothing unless adopted.
| Your situation | Who inherits |
|---|---|
| Married / civil partnership, with children | Spouse/civil partner: personal chattels + statutory legacy of £322,000 (in force since 26 July 2023) + half of the remainder. Children: the other half. |
| Married / civil partnership, no children | Spouse/civil partner takes the whole estate. |
| Unmarried, cohabiting | Partner inherits nothing— "common-law marriage" has no legal standing, whatever the length of the relationship. |
| Stepchildren | Inherit nothing unless legally adopted. |
| No spouse/civil partner | Fixed order: children → parents → full siblings → half-siblings → grandparents → aunts and uncles → the Crown (bona vacantia). |
Walk the same rules interactively on the intestacy flowchart. Children includes adopted children; it does not include stepchildren. “Children” who are under 18 do not take outright — their share is held until they are 18.
What is the statutory legacy for a spouse?
The intestacy statutory legacy for a spouse or civil partner with children in England and Wales is £322,000, in force since 26 July 2023. They also take personal chattels (personal belongings) and half of whatever remains above that figure. If the estate is worth less than £322,000, the spouse takes everything.
That number is easy to misread. A family home in the deceased’s sole name can swallow the £322,000 before anyone talks about savings. The surviving spouse may then own only part of the house, with the children owning the rest — including children from a previous relationship. That is how intestacy forces a sale or a court application. A will can leave the home to the survivor.
Personal chattels are personal belongings, not the house, not money, not business assets. Jewellery, furniture, the car — those go to the spouse in the married-with-children case, on top of the legacy. Check the current figure on gov.uk if you are citing this years later; Parliament can change the legacy.
Does an unmarried partner inherit anything?
No. An unmarried partner inherits nothing at all under the intestacy rules — not after 2 years, not after 30 years, not even with children together and a shared home in one name. The estate passes to blood relatives, or ultimately to the Crown. If this is your situation, read wills for unmarried couples — protecting each other costs £55 for a pair of mirror wills.
A cohabiting partner of two or more years can apply to court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. That is expensive, slow and uncertain litigation against the deceased's family. A will is cheaper and kinder. This intestacy page will not pretend a two-year relationship is a marriage.
Children of the couple inherit under intestacy; the surviving parent does not, except as a possible 1975 Act claimant. That can put a grieving parent in court against their own children’s fund. Mirror wills stop that.
Can stepchildren inherit if there is no will?
No. Stepchildren inherit nothing under intestacy unless they were legally adopted. Helping raise them, paying for school, living as one household — none of that puts them on the ladder. Name them in a will if you want them to inherit. Full detail: can stepchildren inherit.
Blended families who want the new spouse to live in the house for life, then the children from the first marriage to take the capital, usually need a life-interest trust. That is solicitor territory. SwiftWill will tell you to stop. See second marriage with children.
Who inherits if you are single with no children?
With no spouse, civil partner or children, the estate follows a fixed order: parents, then full siblings (or their children), then half-siblings, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles (or their children). Friends, charities and unmarried partners are not on the list. If nobody can be found, the Crown takes the estate as bona vacantia.
That is why a will matters even when “there is nobody to leave it to”. There is always somebody the formula will pick, or the Treasury Solicitor. If you want a friend or a charity to inherit, you have to write it down and sign it. See leaving money to charity and making a will with no children.
What happens to the family home under intestacy?
It depends how the home is owned. Joint tenants: the deceased’s share passes automatically to the surviving owner, outside intestacy. Tenants in common, or a home in one name: that share follows the intestacy formula — which can mean children (including adult children from a previous relationship) own part of the house the survivor lives in.
Check the Land Registry title, not the mortgage statement. Most couples should also make wills either way, because a home is never the whole estate: savings, cars, personal things and death-in-service benefits still need instructions. See property owned with a partner and unmarried, own a house together.
Do pensions and life insurance follow intestacy?
Often not. Many occupational pensions and life policies pay whoever is named on a nomination form, or at the scheme trustees’ discretion — not whoever intestacy picks. Joint bank accounts usually pass to the survivor. Intestacy only governs the will-shaped part of the estate. Check each product; do not assume the formula covers everything.
That is good news and a trap. A nomination that still names an ex-spouse can send a pension the “wrong” way even if you later make a will. Update nominations when you make the will. Digital accounts are a separate mess: digital legacy after death.
How many people does this affect?
Around 54–60% of UK adults have no will — more than 30 million people — and many more have wills made invalid or out of date by marriage, divorce, children or moving home. Every one of those estates follows the formula above, not the person's wishes. Sources and ranges: UK will statistics.
Survey wording differs (“have a will” versus “have an up-to-date will”), so we publish a range, not a fake precision. The policy point does not depend on whether the true figure is 54 or 60: most adults are still one unsigned document away from this table.
Is probate harder without a will?
Yes. With a will, your chosen executor applies for a Grant of Probate and follows your instructions. Without one, the person entitled under the intestacy rules must apply for Letters of Administration instead — a role they did not choose, often slower and more expensive, taken on at the worst possible time. See what probate is.
Administrators are not always the people you would have picked. The statutory order of who may apply can put a distant relative in charge, or start an argument about who should act. Naming executors in a will is one of the cheapest kindnesses you can do. See what is an executor.
Can the intestacy rules be challenged?
Only narrowly. Spouses, cohabiting partners of two or more years, children and financial dependants can apply to court for reasonable provision under the Inheritance Act 1975 — expensive, slow and uncertain. A £35 will is cheaper. Skip a court claim as your plan; it is a last resort, not an estate plan.
The 1975 Act does not let you rewrite the formula into whatever feels fair. A court decides “reasonable financial provision” — often maintenance, not a half share of the house you assumed was yours. Do not tell an unmarried partner that “we can always claim”. Tell them to make a will this week.
Disinheritance when there is a will is a different page: can I disinherit someone.
What is bona vacantia?
If nobody on the intestacy family ladder can be found, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia. Unmarried partners, stepchildren, friends and charities are not on that ladder. A will is how you choose a person or a cause instead of the Treasury Solicitor.
Bona vacantia is not a myth reserved for millionaires with no relatives. Small estates with fractured families end up there too. If you have lost touch with siblings, write a will. Do not assume the state will “do the right thing”.
Who should skip worrying about intestacy?
Anyone with a signed, witnessed will that still matches their life — married after the will was made is the usual trap, because marriage revokes a will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage. See does marriage revoke a will. Everyone else on this page should make a will, not hope the formula is close enough.
This page is not inheritance-tax advice, not Scotland, and not a substitute for a 1975 Act claim already in court. If the estate is straightforward and you live in England or Wales, make a will online — about 15 minutes, £35, then sign it properly. Skip SwiftWill if you need tax planning, trusts, foreign assets or expect a dispute.