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Estate Planning Specialists

5 articles

Intestacy

Practical guides on intestacy for UK executors and families dealing with probate.

  • Intestacy

    Deathbed Marriages: How a Late Marriage Revokes a Will and Rewrites Who Inherits

    In England and Wales, getting married or entering a civil partnership automatically revokes any will made beforehand, unless that will was expressly made in contemplation of the marriage. If no new will is made before death, the intestacy rules apply, and they put the new spouse first: personal possessions, the first £322,000 of the estate, and half of anything above that. This is why a marriage shortly before death, sometimes called a deathbed or predatory marriage, can redirect an estate away from children named in a will the deceased believed was still valid. The Law Commission has recommended abolishing the revocation rule, but it remains the law today.

    4 min read

  • Intestacy

    Intestacy Rules for a Spouse and Children: How the £322,000 Split Works

    When someone dies without a will in England and Wales leaving both a spouse or civil partner and children, the estate does not simply pass to the survivor. The spouse receives the personal possessions, a statutory legacy of £322,000 and half of anything left over, while the children share the other half. This guide shows exactly how that split works in pounds at different estate sizes, why jointly owned assets change the maths, and where the rules catch families out.

    8 min read

  • Intestacy

    Intestacy Rules for Unmarried Partners: Why Cohabitees Inherit Nothing

    Under the intestacy rules of England and Wales, an unmarried partner inherits nothing, whether you have lived together for two years or forty. There is no such thing as common law marriage. This guide explains exactly who inherits instead, the survivorship exception for jointly owned assets, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claim route with its two-year cohabitation condition and six-month time bar, and the one reliable fix: making a will.

    8 min read

  • Intestacy

    Scottish Intestacy Rules Explained: Who Inherits Without a Will

    When someone dies without a will in Scotland, the estate is shared out under the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 in three fixed stages: prior rights for a surviving spouse or civil partner, legal rights over the moveable estate, and then the free estate passing to relatives in a set order. This is completely different from the intestacy rules in England and Wales. This guide walks through each stage with a worked example, covers cohabitants, the 1 May 2024 change and what happens when there is no family at all.

    7 min read

  • Intestacy

    Who Inherits If There Is No Will? UK Intestacy Rules Explained

    When someone dies without a valid will in England and Wales, the intestacy rules decide who inherits, in a fixed order set by law. A surviving spouse or civil partner comes first, taking everything if there are no children, or the personal possessions, the first £322,000 and half of the rest if there are. Unmarried partners and stepchildren get nothing automatically. This guide sets out the full order of priority, works through real examples in pounds, and explains what to do next.

    7 min read
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