If you are married or in a civil partnership
With no children: your spouse or civil partner inherits everything.
With children: your spouse or civil partner receives your personal possessions, the first £322,000 of the estate (the “statutory legacy”), and half of whatever remains. The other half is divided equally between your children. If a child has died before you, their share passes to their own children.
This catches people out. A family home in Widnes, Runcorn or St Helens plus savings can comfortably exceed £322,000, which means a portion of the estate goes to the children — potentially forcing a sale of the home the surviving spouse lives in.
If you are not married
If there is no spouse or civil partner, the estate passes in a strict order: children (and their descendants); then parents; then brothers and sisters; then half-siblings; then grandparents; then aunts and uncles; then half-aunts and uncles. The first category with a living member takes the whole estate.
If no relative in that list survives you, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia.
The people who inherit nothing
This is the part most people do not know.
An unmarried partner receives nothing.It does not matter whether you lived together for two years or thirty, whether you had children together, or whether you shared every bill. There is no such thing as a “common law spouse” in English law. A surviving partner may have to bring a court claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 — expensive, stressful, and uncertain.
Stepchildren receive nothing, unless legally adopted.
Close friends, carers and charities receive nothing.
Separated but not divorced? Your spouse still inherits in full. Separation has no effect on intestacy — only a decree absolute or final order does.
The practical consequences
Beyond who inherits, intestacy creates problems of administration. There is no executor, so someone must apply for letters of administration, in a fixed order of priority. Inheritance tax planning opportunities are lost. Assets due to a child under 18 are held on trust until they turn 18 — at which point they receive the lot, regardless of readiness.
The whole process takes longer, costs more, and lands on a family already dealing with a bereavement.
The fix is straightforward
A properly drafted will removes all of this. It names your executors, says who gets what, provides for an unmarried partner or stepchildren, and can build in trusts for young or vulnerable beneficiaries.
Talk to us
To make a will, or check that an existing one still works, call 0151 422 0982.