Rules of Intestacy
2023

According to the rules of intestacy of 2023, the statutory legacy amount that a spouse is automatically entitled to changed. Assuming that both children and a spouse are alive when the death occurs, the estate would be divided and detailed as below:

The heirs with rights according to the law are the spouse or civil partner first and possibly any children depending on the value of the estate. In case of intestacy, if the partner is not married or in a civil partnership, they will not have any rights as an heir. Common law partners are not currently recognised but this does not mean there are not laws to protect the interests of a partner. A partner may well have a claim on the estate according to the inheritance and dependants act 1975, for further information with regards this please make an enquiry with regards contesting an estate

When both the children and spouse live, the spouse will receive up to £322,000 that corresponds to the statutory legacy and half the estate above such statutory legacy. As for the children, they will receive the other half of the remaining estate above the statutory legacy.

If the children have predeceased, but there are other descendants, for example grandchildren, they would receive the share corresponding to that their parent would have received or divided between them if more than one. However, if the children are deceased without other descendants and the spouse is alive, the spouse will receive all of the estate, no matter which other family members of the deceased are alive, including parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts, etc.

If both children and spouse are deceased and the children do not have other descendants, the estate would go fully to the grandparents, and if they are also deceased, to the uncles and aunts, first the full blood ones, and if they do not exist the half-blood ones.

When none of these people are reachable, you can hire an heir hunting service to help you find any potential heirs. Otherwise, if there are no heirs with rights, the estate would go fully to the Crown.

In conclusion, it is always highly recommended to make a will. With it you can distribute your estate as you wish including any partners who have a relationship with you that has not been formalised yet. Making a will is cheap, fast, and very efficient in comparison with the issues that usually appear when one dies intestacy.