What Happens If You Die Without a Will?
Published on 13th Apr 2026
Most people assume that when they die, their money and property will naturally pass to the people they love. For many, that assumption is wrong — and the consequences can be devastating.
Recent figures show that over 56 per cent of adults in the UK do not have a will. Without a will, your estate does not get divided according to your wishes. It gets divided according to a legal formula, one that has remained largely unchanged since 1925. This process risks leaving partners, stepchildren, and close friends with nothing.
What Is Intestacy?
When someone dies without a valid will, they are said to have died intestate. In these circumstances, their estate is distributed according to the Rules of Intestacy, set out in the Administration of Estates Act 1925.
These rules apply when no will exist, but also when a will is declared invalid due to errors in drafting, signing, or witnessing.
The rules follow a strict order of priority. Understanding that order is essential because you may be surprised by who does, and does not, benefit.
Who Inherits Your Money if You Die Without a Will?
The rules of what happens to your estate if you die without a will look as follows:
· If you are married or in a civil partnership with no children, your spouse or civil partner inherits your entire estate.
· If you are married or in a civil partnership with children, your spouse receives all of your personal possessions plus a statutory legacy of £322,000. Any remaining estate above that figure is split equally between your spouse and your children.
· If you have children but no spouse, the estate is divided equally between your children.
· If you have no spouse and no children, the estate passes to parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives in a set order.
· If no eligible relatives can be found at all, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia.
Common Law Spouse - Misconceptions About Wills
This is where the intestacy rules cause the most distress, and where the biggest myth in English law lives.
Around 46 to 51 per cent of British adults wrongly believe that couples who live together have the same legal rights as married couples. There is no such thing as common law marriage in UK law. It doesn’t matter if you have lived together for five years, twenty years, or forty years, an unmarried partner inherits nothing under intestacy.
The practical consequences of this can be severe. If a property is only in the deceased person's name and there is no will, the surviving partner may not automatically inherit the home. This can create immediate problems, particularly if there is a mortgage, children, or pressure from wider family.
An unmarried partner's only option in these circumstances is to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. This requires proving cohabitation for at least two years immediately before death, filing within six months of probate being granted, and there is no guaranteed outcome. It is a stressful, expensive, and uncertain process that a properly drafted will, would avoid entirely.
What Happens to Stepchildren if a Parent Dies Without a Will?
Stepchildren inherit nothing under intestacy unless they were legally adopted. If you have stepchildren that you have raised and wish to provide for, they will be completely overlooked by the intestacy rules, regardless of how long they have been part of your life.
What Happens to Jointly Owned Property Without a Will?
Not all assets are governed by the intestacy rules. Jointly owned property and accounts are treated differently depending on how they are legally held. Where property is owned as joint tenants, the deceased's interest passes automatically to the surviving owner through the right of survivorship and does not form part of the estate.
However, if a property is owned as tenants in common, such as one person having their name on the deeds and the other partner living there, the cohabitee will not inherit any of the deceased's share at all under intestacy. Many couples do not know which way they hold their property and finding out only after a death is too late.
Is Reform Coming?
There is growing political pressure to modernise the law. The government announced in February 2025 that formal consultation on cohabitation rights reform would launch later that year, with proposals including enhanced inheritance rights for surviving partners
Getting Your Will in Place
If you do not have a will, or your will has not been recently updated, we recommend drawing up a new will. If you have a change in life circumstances, then it is important that this is reflected in a new will. Your surviving loved ones will then be clear about what you want to happen with your estate when you die.
Contact our Wills and Probate team to discuss how we can help you make or update your will.
