What happens to your estate if you die without a Will? It’s a question most of us never get around to asking, often until it’s too late. For more than half of adults in the UK, that moment arrives before a Will has ever been written.
When it does, the Intestacy Rules take over. These are the legal rules that decide who inherits your estate when there’s no valid Will in place and they don’t always reflect what you would have wanted.
At Liberay Legal, we speak to families every week who are dealing with the fallout of a loved one dying intestate. Partners are left with nothing. Children from previous relationships are overlooked. Family disputes arise at the worst possible time.
The good news is that this is entirely avoidable. This guide explains exactly how the Intestacy Rules work in 2026 and what you can do to make sure your estate goes to the right people.
What Does 'Dying Intestate' Actually Mean?
When someone dies without a valid Will, or with a Will that is incomplete, out of date or legally invalid, they are said to have died intestate. In England and Wales, this triggers a set of legal rules known as the Intestacy Rules, which determine who is entitled to inherit the estate and in what order.
These rules are set out in Section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (as amended by the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act of 2014) and have been updated several times since, most significantly in 2014, when the spousal inheritance threshold was raised. It’s important to be aware that these rules apply specifically to England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland operate under different legislation.
The key thing to understand is this: the Intestacy Rules are completely fixed. They don’t take into account your personal relationships, your wishes or the circumstances of the people you leave behind. The law doesn’t know that you wanted your long-term partner to keep the house. It doesn’t know that you’d promised a specific item to a close friend. And it certainly doesn’t know who you wanted to look after your children.
That’s why a Will matters so much and why understanding what happens without one is so important.
Who Inherits Under the Intestacy Rules in 2026?
The Intestacy Rules follow a strict order of priority, known as the statutory order of inheritance. Here’s how it works:
If You Are Married or in a Civil Partnership
Your spouse or civil partner is first in line. Under the current rules, if you are legally married or in a registered civil partnership and your estate is worth £322,000 or less, your spouse inherits everything outright.
If your estate exceeds £322,000 and you have children, your spouse will receive the first £322,000 plus all personal possessions and then half of the remaining estate. The other half is divided equally between your children.
It sounds straightforward but there are complications. What if you’re separated but not yet divorced? Your estranged spouse may still inherit. What if you have children from a previous relationship? They may receive less than you would have intended.
If You Have Children (But No Spouse or Civil Partner)
If you are not married or in a civil partnership, your entire estate passes to your children in equal shares. The term ‘children’ here includes biological children and legally adopted children, but does not automatically include stepchildren unless they were formally adopted by you.
If a child has already died but had children of their own (your grandchildren), those grandchildren will inherit their parent’s share.
If You Have No Spouse or Children
The Intestacy Rules then work through a hierarchy of other relatives in this order: parents, siblings (or their children if deceased), half-siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles and half-aunts and uncles.
If no living relatives can be found, your entire estate passes to the Crown – a process known as bona vacantia.
The Most Common Misconception: Unmarried Partners Are Not Protected
This is the issue we encounter most frequently and it causes enormous distress to the families involved.
In England and Wales, there is no such thing as a ‘common-law spouse’ in legal terms. No matter how long you have lived together, however many children you share or however intertwined your finances may be, if you are not legally married or in a civil partnership, your partner has no automatic right to inherit anything from your estate under the Intestacy Rules.
Nothing at all.
This means that if you die without a Will and you are in a long-term, committed relationship but are not married, your partner could be left with no legal entitlement to your home, your savings or your possessions. Your estate could instead pass to relatives you haven’t spoken to in years, or even to the Crown.
The only way to protect an unmarried partner is to make a Will.
What About Cohabiting Couples and Property?
This is where things can become particularly painful. If you and your partner own your home as joint tenants, the property will automatically pass to the surviving partner regardless of whether you have a Will. This is known as the right of survivorship.
However, if you own your home as tenants in common (which is common when couples have unequal shares, or where the property was purchased with a mortgage by one party) your share of the property forms part of your estate and will be distributed according to the Intestacy Rules. That could mean your partner is forced to sell or buy out the relevant share from your estate.
Getting this right requires both a properly drafted Will and potentially a Declaration of Trust or a review of how your property is held. Our team at Liberay Legal can advise you on both.
What Happens to Your Children?
The Intestacy Rules do provide for minor children, but perhaps not in the way you’d expect. Funds held for children under the Intestacy Rules are held on statutory trusts and are not released until a child turns 18, or in some cases until they marry. This means there may be limited flexibility around how and when those funds can be used in the years leading up to that point.
More significantly, the Intestacy Rules say nothing about who should care for your children if both parents die. The appointment of a legal guardian for your children is one of the most important decisions any parent will ever make and a decision that can only be made in a Will. Without one, a court will decide and the outcome may not be what you would have chosen.
Does a Will Always Avoid These Problems?
A properly drafted, legally valid Will is the most reliable way to ensure your estate is distributed according to your wishes. However, it’s worth being aware of a few additional points.
First, certain assets fall outside your estate entirely and are not governed by your Will or the Intestacy Rules. These include pension death benefits (which are paid at the discretion of the pension trustees), life insurance policies written in trust and jointly held assets that pass by survivorship. It’s worth reviewing these alongside your Will to make sure your overall estate planning is joined up.
Second, even with a Will in place, certain family members may be able to make a claim against your estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if they feel they have not been reasonably provided for. This is another reason why taking professional legal advice when drafting your Will is so important.
How Can Liberay Legal Help?
At Liberay Legal, our specialist wills and estate planning team helps individuals and families across England and Wales put proper plans in place for the future.
Whether you need a straightforward single Will, a pair of mirror Wills for you and your partner, or more complex advice around trusts, tax planning or protecting assets for children from a blended family, we’re here to help.
We believe that good legal advice shouldn’t be complicated or out of reach. Our process is clear, jargon-free and designed around you, with transparent fees and no hidden surprises.
Wills start from just £200 + VAT for a simple single Will.
The Bottom Line: Don't Leave It to the Law
The Intestacy Rules exist as a safety net, but they were never designed to reflect the full complexity of modern family life. They don’t know who you love, what you’ve promised or how you’ve lived. They simply apply a fixed legal formula to whatever you leave behind.
A Will puts you back in control. It protects your partner, provides for your children and ensures that the people you love are looked after in the way you intend.
If you don’t yet have a Will, or if your existing Will is out of date, there has never been a better time to put that right.
Get in touch with Liberay Legal today to speak with one of our specialist wills and estate planning solicitors. We’ll take the time to understand your situation, explain your options clearly and help you move forward with confidence.
Contact us here or call 03330 115 105.
