Intestacy Solicitors

The married or civil partners of a deceased person will only inherit under the rules of intestacy if they were married or in a civil partnership at the date of death. This means that if you were divorced from the deceased, or if your civil partnership has been legally ended, you will not inherit under the Intestacy Rules.

Married or civil partners who have only separated informally can still inherit under the Intestacy Rules. However, cohabiting partners who were neither married nor in a civil partnership, will not inherit property or possessions under the rules of intestacy.

If there are surviving children, grandchildren or great grandchildren of the person who died and the estate is valued at more than £322,000 the spouse or civil partner will inherit:

• all the deceased’s personal property and belongings, and
• the first £322,000 of the Estate, and half of the remaining estate (often known as the residuary estate, which could comprise of a bank account or, for example, an interest in a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England and Wales).

If there are no surviving children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren, the spouse or partner will inherit:

• all the deceased’s personal property and belongings, and the whole of the rest of the Estate (often known as the residuary estate, which could comprise of a bank account or, for example, an interest in a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England and Wales).

The children of the deceased will only inherit property and possessions if there is no surviving spouse or civil partner. If there is a surviving spouse or civil partner, they will inherit only if the Estate is worth more than £322,000.

If there is no surviving spouse or civil partner, the children of the deceased will inherit the whole estate. This rule applies however much the estate is worth. If there are two or more children, the estate will be divided equally between them.

If there is a surviving spouse or civil partner, a child only inherits from the Estate if the Estate is valued at over £322,000. If there are two or more children, the children will inherit in equal shares. All the children of the parent who has died inherit equally from the Estate. This also applies where a parent has children from different relationships.

Step children who have been formally adopted by their step parent have the right to inherit under the Rules of Intestacy. Where there has been no formal adoption only biological children will inherit.

Parents, brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews may inherit under the rules of intestacy depending upon:

• whether there is a surviving spouse or civil partner
• whether there are children, grandchildren or great grandchildren.
• in the case of nephews and nieces, whether the parent directly related to the person who has died is also dead
• the amount of the estate

Other relatives may have a right to inherit if the deceased person had no surviving spouse or civil partner, children, grandchildren, great grand-children, parents, brothers, sisters, nephews or nieces. The order of priority amongst other relatives is as follows:-

• grandparents
• uncles and aunts. A cousin can inherit instead if the uncle or aunt who would have inherited died before the intestate person
• half-uncles and half-aunts. A half-cousin can inherit instead if the half-uncle or half-aunt who would have inherited died before the intestate person

The following people have no right to inherit where someone dies without leaving a Will:

• unmarried partners (sometimes wrongly called ‘common-law’ partners)
• same sex partners not in a civil partnership
• relations by marriage
• close friends
• carers