If someone dies without a will in the UK, they die intestate , and the law decides who inherits their money, property, and possessions. In most cases, a spouse or civil partner comes first; if there is no spouse or civil partner, children usually inherit, and if there are no close relatives the estate can pass further out through the family line or ultimately to the Crown.

What usually happens

  • A close relative can usually apply to deal with the estate, often as the administrator rather than an executor.
  • The estate is distributed under the rules of intestacy, not according to any verbal wishes or informal notes.
  • Unmarried partners do not automatically inherit just because they lived together.

Typical inheritance order

  • Spouse or civil partner first, with the exact share depending on whether there are children.
  • Children if there is no spouse or civil partner.
  • Parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives if needed.
  • The Crown if no eligible relatives exist.

Important complications

  • Jointly owned assets may pass automatically to the surviving owner and may not be part of the intestate estate.
  • The rules differ across the UK nations and can vary by estate size and family situation.
  • If someone feels they were not reasonably provided for, they may be able to make a legal claim in some cases.

Example

If a person in England and Wales dies without a will and leaves a spouse and children, the spouse does not always get everything; the estate is split according to the intestacy rules, which can leave children with a share rather than the whole estate.

The practical takeaway is simple: without a will, the government’s default rules decide, and those rules may not match what the person would have wanted.