What Happens If a Will Has No Residuary Clause? (UK Guide)

What happens if a will has no residuary clause?

1Assets not covered by specific gifts in the will fall into 'partial intestacy' and are distributed under the intestacy rules, not according to the testator's wishes.
2Partial intestacy most often arises when a will only lists specific gifts, when a residuary beneficiary has predeceased the testator, or when a gift lapses.
3As executor, you run two parallel processes: distributing specific gifts under the will, and distributing uncovered assets under the intestacy rules.
4The lapse rule means a gift to a non-child beneficiary who dies before the testator falls back into residue (or intestacy if there is no residue).
5Section 33 Wills Act 1837 provides an important exception: gifts to the testator's children do not lapse if the child has their own children who survive the testator.

A residuary clause is one of the most important provisions in any will. Without it — or when it fails — part or all of the estate may pass to people the testator never intended to benefit. As executor, understanding when partial intestacy arises and how to administer it correctly protects both the beneficiaries and yourself. For wider context, see our guide on what the residuary estate means and our complete UK probate guide.

What is a residuary clause?

The residuary clause is the catch-all provision at the end of most wills. It deals with "the rest, residue and remainder" of the estate — everything that is left after specific gifts have been made and all debts, taxes, and administration costs have been paid.

A typical residuary clause might say: "I give the rest of my estate to my daughter Alice absolutely." Without such a clause, any assets not specifically addressed in the will have nowhere to go under the terms of the will itself.

The residuary clause is where most of the estate's value usually sits. Specific gifts — "I give my car to Ben" or "I give £5,000 to the RSPCA" — rarely account for the bulk of an estate. The house, savings, and investments typically fall into residue.

What is partial intestacy?

Partial intestacy occurs when a will does not dispose of all of the deceased's estate. The undisposed assets pass as if the deceased had died intestate — without a will — under the Administration of Estates Act 1925.

This can happen in several ways:

The will contains only specific gifts with no residuary clause, and there are assets left over after all gifts have been distributed.
The residuary beneficiary (or all of them) died before the testator, causing the residuary gift to lapse.
The residuary clause is invalidated — for example, because the residuary beneficiary was a witness to the will.
A specific gift lapses (the beneficiary died before the testator) and the will contains no substitution clause for what happens in that event, and the lapsed gift falls back to the residue — but if the residuary clause also fails, partial intestacy results.

Partial intestacy is more common than total intestacy (where there is no will at all). Many older wills drafted decades ago have residuary beneficiaries who have since died, and the will was never updated to include substitutes. See our guide on partial intestacy for a fuller treatment.

Who inherits the uncovered assets under intestacy rules?

The intestacy rules set out a strict hierarchy of who inherits assets that fall outside the will. For deaths in England and Wales in 2026, the order is:

Spouse or civil partner— inherits all personal chattels plus the "statutory legacy" (£322,000 as of 2024/25, uprated periodically) plus half the remainder.
Children (if spouse also survives) — share the other half of the remainder equally; if no spouse survives, children inherit everything equally.
Parents (if no spouse or children)
Siblings (if no parents)
And so on down the statutory order — half-siblings, grandparents, uncles and aunts.

Unmarried partners (however long they have been together) have no entitlement under the intestacy rules and inherit nothing from the intestate portion. This is one of the most common and painful consequences of partial intestacy. See our guide on intestacy — what happens if there is no will.

The lapse rule: what happens when a beneficiary dies first

If a beneficiary dies before the testator, their gift "lapses" — it fails and falls back into residue. If the lapsed gift was itself part of residue (or if there is no residuary clause), it falls into partial intestacy.

The s.33 Wills Act 1837 exception for children

Section 33 of the Wills Act 1837 provides an important exception to the lapse rule. Where a gift is made to the testator's own child (or remoter descendant), and that child dies before the testator but leaves children of their own who survive the testator, the gift does notlapse. Instead, it passes to the deceased child's children (the testator's grandchildren) equally.

Example

The will says: "I give my estate equally to my children Alice and Ben." Alice dies before the testator, leaving two children of her own. Under s.33, Alice's half share does not lapse — it passes equally to Alice's two children. Ben still takes his half share directly.

If Alice had died without children of her own, her share would lapse and — in the absence of a residuary clause dealing with the eventuality — would fall into partial intestacy.

The s.33 exception onlyapplies to the testator's own children. A gift to a sibling, friend, or other relative that lapses simply falls into residue (or intestacy if there is no residuary clause). It does not pass to the beneficiary's own children unless the will expressly says so.

How to identify partial intestacy as executor

Read the will carefully and ask the following questions:

Does the will contain a residuary clause? If not, partial intestacy is almost certain.
Have all the residuary beneficiaries survived the testator? If any have died, check whether s.33 applies or whether the gift lapses.
Does the residuary clause include a substitution — "and if they predecease me, to their children equally"? If yes, the substituted beneficiaries inherit; no partial intestacy.
Does the will contain a codicil that addresses the residue? Check all testamentary documents.
Is any specific gift invalidated — for example, was the residuary beneficiary a witness to the will? See our guide on wills witnessed by a beneficiary.

For help reading and interpreting the will, see our guide on how to read a will as an executor.

How to administer an estate with partial intestacy

Administering an estate with partial intestacy runs as two parallel processes:

Apply for probate in the usual way using form PA1P — partial intestacy does not prevent you from obtaining a Grant of Probate on the will.
Distribute specific gifts under the will as normal.
Identify the intestate portion — the assets not covered by the will. These may be the residue, or specific assets where the gift has lapsed.
Apply the intestacy rules to the intestate portion: identify the correct beneficiaries under the statutory order and calculate their entitlement.
Consider whether additional authority is needed — in some cases where the intestate portion is significant, you may need a Grant of Letters of Administration in addition to the Grant of Probate, or the court may need to appoint an administrator for the intestate portion. Take legal advice if this arises.

See our guide on the estate administration checklist and on Letters of Administration.

Can a deed of variation fix partial intestacy?

Yes, in many circumstances. If the beneficiaries who would inherit the intestate portion agree, they can redirect those assets (within two years of the death) using a deed of variation. This allows the family to distribute assets in a way that reflects the testator's actual wishes, even where the will failed to achieve them. A deed of variation can also have IHT advantages if drafted correctly.

How to avoid this problem in a new will

The solution is straightforward: a well-drafted will should always include:

A clear residuary clause naming one or more residuary beneficiaries.
Substitution provisions — "and if [beneficiary] predeceases me, to [substitute]" — for each significant gift and for the residue.
A longstop provision — "and if all of the above predecease me, to [charity or other backstop]" — to prevent intestacy entirely.

For guidance on what a well-drafted will looks like, see our guide on how to write a will in the UK.

Frequently asked questions

Does partial intestacy invalidate the will?

No. The will remains valid and the specific gifts in it must be honoured. Partial intestacy simply means that the assets not disposed of by the will pass under the intestacy rules — it does not affect the validity of the will or the specific gifts it contains.

What if the residuary beneficiary is also the executor?

This is very common. The executor/residuary beneficiary cannot inherit the intestate portion by virtue of their executor role — they must identify the correct beneficiaries under the intestacy rules and distribute the intestate portion to them, even if that means distributing to people other than themselves.

Can a codicil add a residuary clause to a will?

Yes. A validly executed codicil can add a residuary clause that was missing from the original will, provided the testator still has capacity. This is one situation where a codicil remains the sensible and practical solution.

Does partial intestacy affect the IHT calculation?

Not directly — IHT is calculated on the total taxable estate regardless of how it is distributed. However, partial intestacy can affect who is entitled to IHT reliefs and exemptions. For example, assets passing to an unmarried partner under a lapsed gift do not benefit from the spousal exemption, whereas the same assets passing to a spouse would be exempt.

If there is no residuary clause and no family, what happens?

If no one qualifies to inherit under the intestacy rules (no spouse, children, or other relatives within the statutory order), the intestate assets pass to the Crown as bona vacantia (ownerless property). This is exceedingly rare but does happen with isolated individuals.