Your Inheritance Rights
When someone dies without a valid will in England and Wales, the intestacy rules in the Administration of Estates Act 1925 decide who inherits — and they protect spouses, civil partners and blood relatives, not unmarried partners. Even where there is a will, close family and dependants left without reasonable provision can ask a court to intervene, subject to a strict six-month deadline.
Last updated: 2026-07-30
Your Rights
Spouse or Civil Partner: Everything If There Are No Children
If the person who died leaves a spouse or civil partner but no children or other descendants, 'the residuary estate shall be held in trust for the surviving spouse or civil partner absolutely' — the whole estate.
Spouse or Civil Partner Where There Are Children: The £322,000 Statutory Legacy
Where there are children, the surviving spouse or civil partner takes the personal chattels, a fixed net sum of £322,000 (for deaths on or after 26 July 2023) with interest, and half of whatever remains. The children share the other half.
Children's Shares
Children inherit the half of the estate above the statutory legacy where there is a surviving spouse, and the whole estate on the statutory trusts where there is not. A child under 18 cannot receive their inheritance until they turn 18.
The Wider Family Order — and the Crown Last
With no spouse or descendants, the estate passes in a fixed order: both parents equally (or the survivor), then brothers and sisters on the statutory trusts, and so on through the family. Only when no qualifying relative exists does the estate pass to the Crown as 'bona vacantia'.
Jointly Owned Property Passes Automatically
Property held as beneficial joint tenants does not go through the intestacy rules at all — 'when the first partner dies, the surviving partner will automatically inherit the other partner's share' by survivorship. Property held as tenants in common does form part of the estate.
Right to Claim Reasonable Financial Provision
Spouses and civil partners, former spouses who have not remarried, a partner who lived with the deceased as a couple for the whole two years before death, children, people treated as children of the family, and anyone maintained by the deceased can apply for reasonable financial provision where the will or intestacy fails to provide it. For spouses, provision is not limited to maintenance.
The Six-Month Deadline for 1975 Act Claims
An application must be made within 'six months from the date on which representation with respect to the estate of the deceased is first taken out' — that is, from the grant of probate or letters of administration — unless the court gives permission for a late claim. You can issue a claim before the grant.
Killers Cannot Inherit — But Their Children Can
The forfeiture rule is 'the rule of public policy which in certain circumstances precludes a person who has unlawfully killed another from acquiring a benefit in consequence of the killing'. Since 2012, a person disqualified by forfeiture (or who disclaims) is treated as having died immediately before the deceased, so their own children can still inherit; courts can also modify the rule in some cases.
Common Myths
The surviving spouse always gets everything.
Only if there are no children or other descendants. Where there are children, the spouse takes the chattels, £322,000 and half the remainder — the children share the rest (AEA 1925 s.46; SI 2023/758).
A long-term partner automatically inherits, like a spouse would.
Cohabitants inherit nothing under the intestacy rules — 'the surviving partner will not automatically inherit anything unless the couple owned property jointly'. Their route is a will, survivorship on joint property, or a claim under the 1975 Act as a two-year cohabitant.
If there's no will, the State takes the lot.
The estate works through a long list of relatives first — spouse, children, parents, siblings and beyond. The Crown takes only as 'bona vacantia' when no qualifying relative exists.
If you're left out of a will, nothing can be done.
Eligible family members, cohabitants and dependants can seek reasonable financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 — but normally only within six months of the grant of representation.
Children receive their inheritance immediately.
Under the intestacy rules, 'if a child is under 18, they can't receive their inheritance until they're 18 years old' — it is held on the statutory trusts in the meantime.
What To Do
Check for a Will
Search the person's papers, their solicitor, their bank and the Probate Service. If there is no valid will, the intestacy rules apply — GOV.UK's checker tells you who inherits.
Apply for the Grant
Someone must administer the estate — an executor applies for probate, or the closest relative applies for letters of administration via GOV.UK.
Left Without Provision? Act Within Six Months
The 1975 Act clock runs from the grant of representation. Get advice immediately — you can even issue a claim before the grant, and late claims need the court's permission.
Check How Property Was Owned
Joint-tenant property passes automatically to the surviving co-owner outside the estate; tenant-in-common shares go through the will or intestacy. This often decides what a partner actually receives.
Get Legal Advice for Disputes
Claims under the 1975 Act, forfeiture questions and disputes between relatives are technical and deadline-driven — use a probate solicitor.
Key Legislation
- Administration of Estates Act 1925 (s.46)
- Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2023 (SI 2023/758)
- Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
- Forfeiture Act 1982
- Estates of Deceased Persons (Forfeiture Rule and Law of Succession) Act 2011