How many people die without a will in the UK?

Surveys consistently find that 54-60% of UK adults have no will, and every year tens of thousands of estates are handled under the intestacy rules instead. Dying without a will means the law — not you — decides who inherits, and unmarried partners receive nothing.

What percentage of UK adults have a will?

Roughly 40-46%, depending on the survey — meaning the majority do not. Ownership rises sharply with age, but even among over-55s about a third have no up-to-date will, and only around 4 in 10 parents with dependent children have a will naming guardians.

What is the inheritance tax threshold in 2026?

£325,000 per person — the nil-rate band has been frozen at that level since 2009 and is legislated to stay frozen until at least 2030. Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the value above the threshold, with extra allowances when a home passes to children or grandchildren.

How many probate applications are made each year in the UK?

The probate registry in England and Wales issues roughly 250,000-280,000 grants of representation a year, according to Ministry of Justice statistics — covering both probate, where there is a will, and letters of administration, where there is not.

UK Will Statistics 2026: Adults With a Will

UK will statistics 2026: the numbers behind estate planning in Britain

Quick answer

Around 54–60% of UK adults have no will, roughly a third of over-55s lack an up-to-date one, and only about 4 in 10 parents with dependent children have named guardians. Meanwhile HMRC collected a record £8.2 billion in inheritance tax in 2024/25. Here are the numbers, with sources.

We publish this page because the state of Britain's estate planning is too important to be left to anecdote. Below are the headline numbers on will ownership, intestacy, inheritance tax and probate, each with its source, current as of 2026. Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite them — the page is reviewed and updated annually.

Will ownership

54–60% of UK adults have no will. Surveys by YouGov, IRN Research and the Will Aid campaign have repeatedly landed in this range over recent years.
Roughly 1 in 3 people over 55 have no up-to-date will. Marriage, divorce, house moves and new grandchildren quietly outdate older documents (Will Aid surveys).
Only around 4 in 10 parents with dependent children have a will naming guardians. For the rest, the courts would decide who looks after their children (industry surveys).
Homemade wills fail far more often than drafted ones. Studies of homemade wills consistently find signing and witnessing errors — which can invalidate the whole document — at far higher rates than in professionally prepared wills.

Intestacy and cohabitation

3.6 million cohabiting couple families in the UK. The fastest-growing family type, per the Office for National Statistics — and the group with the most to lose from dying intestate.
£0 — what an unmarried partner inherits under the intestacy rules. No matter how long the relationship, the rules on gov.uk give them nothing; see our plain-English guides to the intestacy rules and to a will for unmarried couples.
Around 1 in 4 families report a dispute over inheritance. Industry surveys put the figure near a quarter — and unclear or missing wills are the most common fuel.

Inheritance tax

£8.2 billion — record inheritance tax receipts in 2024/25. The highest annual total HMRC has ever reported (HMRC inheritance tax statistics).
£325,000 — the nil-rate band, frozen since 2009. Legislation keeps the threshold frozen until at least 2030, quietly pulling more estates into tax each year (gov.uk — inheritance tax).
40% — the rate charged above the threshold. Extra allowances apply when a home passes to children or grandchildren, but the headline rate remains one of the highest in the tax system.

Probate

250,000–280,000 grants issued each year. The probate registry in England and Wales issues roughly this many grants of representation annually — probate where there is a will, letters of administration where there is not (Ministry of Justice family court statistics).

The pattern behind these numbers is simple: most people intend to make a will, and most have not. The fix is neither expensive nor slow — see what a will costs.

Methodology and how to cite

Figures are drawn from publicly available sources: ONS family statistics, HMRC tax receipts, Ministry of Justice court statistics, and large-sample surveys by YouGov, IRN Research and Will Aid. Survey wording differs between organisations — "have a will" and "have an up-to-date will" are not the same question — so we give ranges where estimates vary. All figures were the most recent available as of July 2026.

To cite this page: SwiftWill — UK Will Statistics 2026, swiftwill.co.uk/uk-will-statistics-2026/ (updated annually). Please link rather than copy, so your readers always see the latest figures.