If you die without a will in England or Wales, a set of rules called intestacy decides who inherits, and they may not choose the people you would. Your husband or wife does not automatically receive everything. An unmarried partner receives nothing at all. The law follows a fixed order, and it is a good deal blunter than most people expect.
I have been writing wills for families across Northamptonshire for the better part of twenty years, and I have seen at close hand what happens when someone dies without one. It is rarely the tidy affair people imagine. The house does not simply pass to whoever you would have chosen. The money does not always reach the people who need it. Instead, the law steps in and decides for you.
More than half of adults in this country have never made a will, according to the Money and Pensions Service. Most of them assume that if the worst happened, everything would pass to their husband, wife or partner without any fuss. I am sorry to say it is not that simple. Let me explain what really happens, in plain terms, so you can decide whether you are content to leave it to chance.
What "dying intestate" actually means
When a person dies without a valid will, the law says they have died "intestate". It is an old word, and not a friendly one. What it means in practice is that you have left no instructions, so your estate, which is simply everything you owned, is shared out according to the intestacy rules laid down in law.
Those rules take no account of your wishes, your relationships or your intentions. They do not know that you meant to leave something to your granddaughter, or that you had not spoken to your brother in fifteen years. They follow the order Parliament has set down, and nothing else.
Who inherits if you don't have a will?
The rules work through your relatives in a strict sequence. Here is what happens in the situations I am asked about most often.
If you are married with children
Many people assume their husband or wife would inherit the lot. In fact your spouse receives your personal belongings, the first £322,000 of the estate, and then half of whatever is left. The other half is divided between your children (gov.uk, figure in force since July 2023).
On a modest estate that may not cause any trouble. But if you own a home in this part of the world, where a fairly ordinary house is worth a good deal more than £322,000, the arithmetic can force the sale of the family home to pay the children their share. I have sat with more than one widow who never expected to be in that position.
If you are married with no children
Here your husband or wife does inherit everything. This is the one case where the common assumption holds true. It is also why so many people are caught out, because they assume it applies to them when they have children as well.
If you are not married
This is the one I most want you to hear. An unmarried partner inherits nothing under the intestacy rules, however long you have been together and whatever you may have promised one another. Nothing at all.
Common-law marriage does not exist in England and Wales. I cannot say it plainly enough. Living together for thirty years gives your partner no automatic right to a single penny.
If you have no spouse and no children
The estate passes to your parents, if living. If not, it goes to your brothers and sisters, then to nieces and nephews, then to grandparents, then to aunts and uncles, and so on down the line. If no relative can be found at all, the whole lot goes to the Crown. That is not a figure of speech. Estates are handed to the Treasury every year because no one made a will.
The people the law leaves out
The intestacy rules only recognise spouses, civil partners and blood relatives. A great many people who matter to us are simply not on the list:
- Unmarried partners, as I have said, receive nothing.
- Stepchildren you have raised as your own, but never legally adopted, have no claim.
- Close friends, godchildren and carers are not recognised at all.
- Charities you may have wished to support see none of it.
A gentleman came to see me a few years ago, not long after his partner had died. They had been together the better part of thirty years but had never married. The house was in her sole name. Because she had left no will, it passed under the rules to a brother she had barely spoken to in decades, and my client had no right to remain in the home they had shared. A will would have taken her an afternoon. That is the part that stays with you.
What happens to your children?
If you have children under eighteen and there is no surviving parent to care for them, the court decides who becomes their guardian. It will do its best, but it is a stranger making the most important decision of your children's lives.
A will lets you appoint the guardians yourself, the people you actually trust to raise your children. In my view this is the single most important reason for any parent of young children to make a will, quite apart from the money.
It usually costs more, and it takes longer
Sorting out an estate with no will is harder work than people expect. Someone has to apply to the court for what are called letters of administration before they can deal with anything, and the law decides who is entitled to do that, rather than you choosing an executor you trust.
The process tends to be slower, more expensive and more prone to argument. I have seen families fall out badly over an intestacy, not because anyone was greedy, but because the rules produced an outcome that felt plainly unfair and there was no letter from the person they had lost to explain otherwise.
None of this has to happen
The good news is that a straightforward will is neither complicated nor expensive, and it puts you back in charge. You decide who inherits, you appoint guardians for your children, you choose your executors, and you spare your family the mess I have described.
At Choice Wills I see people in their own homes across Northamptonshire, or over a video call anywhere in England and Wales, whichever suits. The first conversation is free, a single will is £225 and mirror wills for a couple are £450, agreed as a fixed fee before I start. If your affairs are more involved, perhaps you are worried about protecting your home or about Inheritance Tax, we can talk that through properly too.
If you have been meaning to sort it out, do give me a call. It is one of those jobs that weighs on people far more before it is done than after.
Common questions
Does my husband or wife automatically inherit everything if I die without a will?
Not necessarily. If you have children, your spouse receives your personal possessions, the first £322,000 of your estate and half of the remainder. The other half is divided between your children. Your spouse only inherits everything if you have no children.
My partner and I are not married. What would they inherit?
Nothing. Under the intestacy rules an unmarried partner has no automatic right to inherit anything, however long you have been together. They would have to bring a claim through the courts, which is slow, costly and far from certain.
Is common-law marriage recognised in England and Wales?
No. Common-law marriage does not exist in law here. Living together, even for decades, gives an unmarried partner no automatic right to inherit if you die without a will.
What happens to my children if I die without a will?
If your children are under eighteen and there is no surviving parent, the court decides who becomes their guardian. A will lets you appoint the guardians yourself, rather than leaving that decision to a judge who never met you.
How much does it cost to make a will?
With Choice Wills a single will is £225 and mirror wills for a couple are £450, agreed as a fixed fee before any work begins. The first consultation is free.