Reference is made under the Wills & Estates and Statutory Wills sections of this website to the intestacy rules, and to the fact that they are in practice extremely unlikely to precisely mirror the requirements of the deceased as regards the disposition of his or her assets. So what are these rules precisely, and how do they work?
The intestacy rules apply wherever someone dies without leaving a valid Will. They vary according to the family situation of the deceased, as follows:
1. MARRIED (OR IN A CIVIL PARTNERSHIP) AND ESTATE IS WORTH LESS THAN £250,000
Under the Intestacy Rules, the surviving spouse/civil partner inherits all assets.
2. MARRIED (OR IN A CIVIL PARTNERSHIP), ESTATE IS WORTH MORE THAN £250,000 AND NO SURVIVING PARENTS OR BROTHERS/SISTERS (OR THEIR CHILDREN).
Again under the Intestacy Rules, surviving spouse/civil partner receives the whole estate.
3. MARRIED (OR IN A CIVIL PARTNERSHIP), ESTATE IS WORTH MORE THAN £250,000 AND WITH CHILDREN.
The Intestacy Rules now start to get more complex and potentially problematic for the surviving spouse/civil partner. The first £250,000 and the personal possessions will go to the spouse/civil partner but they will only receive a life interest (right to income) in half of whatever is left over. The other half will go to the children immediately, with the remainder of that half following the end of the life interest on the death of the spouse/civil partner.
If any child should pre-decease the parent, then their own children (the parent’s grandchildren), would get their parent’s share and so on if a grandchild has predeceased etc.
4. MARRIED (OR IN A CIVIL PARTNERSHIP), ESTATE IS WORTH MORE THAN £250,000, NO CHILDREN, BUT PARENTS OR BROTHERS/SISTERS (OR THEIR ISSUE).
Under the Intestacy Rules, the surviving spouse’s/civil partner’s automatic share goes up to £450,000 and they still receive the personal possessions. Half of anything left over also goes to the spouse/civil partner absolutely (i.e. it is not subject to a life interest). The other half goes to the surviving relatives in this order:
• Parents, or if no parents survive;
• Brothers or sisters (whole blood) or their children (or their children’s children etc)
5. NOT MARRIED (OR IN A CIVIL PARTNERSHIP) BUT WITH CHILDREN
Under the Intestacy Rules the children will inherit everything equally. Again, if a child has pre-deceased a parent, then that child’s children will get their parent’s share (or children’s children etc)
6. NOT MARRIED (OR IN A CIVIL PARTNERSHIP) AND NO CHILDREN
Under the Intestacy Rules, your surviving relatives will inherit in the following order:
- Parents
- Brothers or sisters or their children (or children’s children etc)
- Half brother or sisters or their children (or children’s children etc)
- Grandparents
- Uncles or aunts (brothers and sisters of the whole blood of a parent) or their children (or children’s children etc)
- Uncles and aunts (brothers and sisters of the half blood of a parent) or their children (or children’s children etc)
If you have no surviving spouse/civil partner, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, first cousins etc then under the Intestacy Rules, everything will go to the Crown!
If you are concerned about the potential application of the intestacy rules to your estate, please contact Sharon Nash
SBN Tax & Accounts Services Ltd 