Farra is a death administration assistant for UK families. Get step-by-step guidance for registering a death, applying for probate, notifying banks, and managing bereavement admin. From essential documents to practical checklists, Farra simplifies estate paperwork and funeral-related tasks so you can focus on what matters.
In England and Wales, intestacy rules fixed by the Administration of Estates Act 1925 decide who inherits. A spouse with children takes the personal chattels, the first £322,000 and half of the remainder; the children share the other half. A spouse with no children inherits the whole estate. With no spouse: children inherit equally, then parents, then siblings, then grandparents. Unmarried partners get nothing automatically. Administering the estate needs letters of administration (form PA1A, £526 fee on estates over £5,000).
When someone dies without a valid will, they are said to have died "intestate". The law then determines who inherits their estate. The rules below are those of England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate systems — see the section at the end. In England and Wales the rules are the intestacy rules.
Spouse/civil partner inherits entire estate
Children inherit entire estate in equal shares
Estate passes in order to: parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts/uncles
Under the intestacy rules for England and Wales, the following cannot automatically inherit:
Without a will, you need "Letters of Administration" instead of probate. The process is similar:
Everything above is the law of England and Wales. The other two UK jurisdictions do not simply use different numbers — they use different systems.
In England and Wales, the intestacy rules in the Administration of Estates Act 1925 decide who inherits. If married with children, the spouse gets the personal chattels and the first £322,000, plus half of anything above that amount; the children share the other half on statutory trusts. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.
No. In England and Wales an unmarried partner inherits nothing under the intestacy rules, however long the couple lived together. The only route is a court claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, normally within six months of the grant, and the outcome is at the court's discretion. Scotland is different: a surviving cohabitant can apply to the court under section 29 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006, within six months of the death.
In England and Wales the spouse inherits all the personal chattels and the first £322,000 of the estate. Anything above £322,000 is split half to the spouse and half between the children. If the estate is worth £322,000 or less, the spouse inherits everything and the children take nothing from that estate at all — they have no deferred interest in it.
Letters of administration is the legal authority to deal with an estate when there is no will, and is the counterpart of a grant of probate. In England and Wales you apply using form PA1A instead of PA1P and pay the same £526 fee if the estate is over £5,000. Scotland does not use letters of administration at all — an executor-dative applies for confirmation.
No, stepchildren cannot inherit under intestacy rules unless they were legally adopted. Only biological children, adopted children, and children from previous relationships of the deceased can inherit. This is one of many reasons why making a will is important for blended families.
If no relatives can be found (no spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or their descendants), the estate passes to the Crown as 'bona vacantia'. It is administered by the Bona Vacantia Division of the Government Legal Department, or by the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duchy of Cornwall for estates in those areas. People with a moral claim can sometimes apply for a discretionary payment.