What would happen to your estate if you were to die without a will?

Posted on: 12/05/2022

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It’s important to have a will in place to make sure that your assets are distributed as you would like them to be.

But what happens to my assets if I die without a will in place?

In this article, Wills & Tax Partner Lee Young answers that question and looks at who receives your inheritance in various scenarios.

What is intestacy?

The term ‘intestate’ refers to dying without a will in place.  When someone dies intestate, their assets will be distributed in accordance with the intestacy rules.

What are the intestacy rules?

The intestacy rules are the legal rules that set out the way that your assets will be divided if you die without a valid will.

Who can inherit if there is no will?

Below we’ve outlined who will inherit what if you die intestate, according to the intestacy rules.

Remember, if you're unhappy with the way in which your assets will be dealt in any of the scenarios below – you need to write a will to explicitly state what you want to happen to your estate when you die.

What does my partner inherit if I die intestate?

If you have no children, your spouse or civil partner will inherit everything.

If you have children, then your spouse or civil partner will inherit everything up to the value of £270,000 and half of the remaining estate.

The above only applies if you are married or in a civil partnership at the time of your death.

What do my children inherit if I die intestate?

If you are not married or in a civil partnership, then your children will inherit everything (shared equally between them).

If you are married or in a civil partnership and have children, then your spouse will inherit everything up to the value of £270,000 and half of the remaining estate. The other half of the estate will be shared equally between your children.

Click here to read the full article.