What happens if you die without a will in England?

Around six in ten adults in the United Kingdom currently have no will. The Office of National Statistics' periodic surveys put the figure even higher — sometimes as high as two-thirds — and among under-fifties the proportion is closer to four in five. Most people who die without a will (the law calls them 'intestate') do so not by choice but because they put it off. The trouble is that English intestacy law is rigid, sometimes counter-intuitive, and quite capable of disinheriting the people you actually meant to look after.

This guide explains the current intestacy rules for England and Wales as they stand in 2026. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland are different — sometimes very different — so if your estate sits north of the border or across the Irish Sea, you will need separate advice. Everything below assumes you live in England or Wales and that you die owning assets here.

Married or civil partnered with no children. Your spouse or civil partner inherits everything. This may sound like a relief, but it can disinherit your siblings, parents and any unmarried partner you have moved in with after a separation. It also gives your spouse complete control over what happens next — they can leave it all to a new partner, a charity, or to people you would not have chosen.

Married or civil partnered with children. Your spouse takes the first £322,000 of your estate (this figure was raised in July 2023 and is reviewed periodically), all your personal possessions, and half of anything above £322,000. The remaining half is divided equally between your children. If a child has died before you, that child's share passes down to their children — your grandchildren — under what is called the 'per stirpes' rule. This is where a great deal of family conflict starts: a stepfamily can find itself splitting an estate that the deceased had assumed would go intact to one side or the other.

Unmarried with children. Your children inherit the entire estate equally. If a child has died before you, their share passes down to their children. Your unmarried partner, however long you have been together, receives nothing automatically. This is one of the most common ways intestacy law disinherits the people most affected by a death.

Unmarried with no children but with parents living. Your parents inherit equally. If only one parent is living, they take the whole estate. Your siblings receive nothing.

Unmarried with no children, no living parents, but with siblings. Your full-blood siblings inherit equally. Where a sibling has died before you leaving children of their own, those children (your nieces and nephews) take their parent's share between them.

Unmarried with no parents, siblings or children. The estate passes to grandparents, then aunts and uncles, then cousins, in that order. If no relative within those degrees can be traced, the estate passes to the Crown under the doctrine of bona vacantia — meaning, ultimately, the Treasury keeps it. The Government's Bona Vacantia Division publishes a public list of unclaimed estates that runs into the thousands.

The 'common-law spouse' myth. There is no such thing as a common-law husband or wife in English law, regardless of how many decades you have lived together. An unmarried partner has no automatic right to inherit anything, and may have to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 just to receive reasonable provision — a slow, expensive and uncertain process.

Children of unmarried parents. All biological and adopted children inherit equally regardless of whether the parents were married. Stepchildren, however, have no automatic right to inherit from a step-parent, no matter how long the family has been together. This catches an enormous number of blended families out.

Joint property. Property held as 'joint tenants' (the most common form of joint ownership in England and Wales) passes automatically to the surviving owner regardless of any will or intestacy rules. Property held as 'tenants in common' passes through your estate. Many couples assume they own as joint tenants when in fact they own as tenants in common, and vice versa — it is always worth checking the Land Registry record.

Why a will fixes all of this. A properly drafted will lets you decide exactly who inherits what, in what order, and on what conditions. It lets you provide for an unmarried partner, ringfence assets for children from a previous relationship, leave specific items to specific people, name the executors you trust, appoint guardians for any minor children, leave gifts to charity, and structure the estate in a way that minimises inheritance tax. A single will costs £95 fixed-fee at Will Guard, takes about an hour to discuss at your kitchen table, and a fortnight to come back signed and witnessed. There is, in short, no good reason to die intestate.

If you would like to talk to a Will Guard consultant about getting a will drafted, call us on 0330 223 7844 or use our contact form. The first conversation is always free, in your home, and entirely without obligation.