Intestacy With No Children UK (2026): Who Inherits Under the Intestacy Rules?

Yes — since 1 October 2014, if you die intestate (without a valid will) in England and Wales and you are married or in a civil partnership with no surviving children, grandchildren, or other descendants, your spouse or civil partner inherits the entire estate outright. This is a significant change from the old rules, which required the estate to be shared with the deceased's parents or siblings even when a spouse survived. Under the current Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014, the surviving spouse takes everything — personal chattels, the family home, savings, investments, and all other assets — with no cap and no sharing. There is no requirement for the spouse to survive for a particular period, though the commorientes rule applies if it is unclear who died first. An unmarried partner does not benefit from this rule — they are not a 'spouse' and inherit nothing under intestacy.

Before October 2014, if a married person died without children, the estate was NOT all left to the spouse automatically. Under the old Administration of Estates Act 1925 rules, the surviving spouse received: (1) all personal chattels; (2) a fixed 'statutory legacy' (£450,000 from 2009); and (3) the whole of the residue (everything above the statutory legacy). If the estate was worth more than the statutory legacy, the excess was divided with the deceased's surviving parents (or siblings if the parents were dead). In effect, even wealthy spouses could receive less than the full estate if the deceased had surviving parents or siblings. The Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014 swept this away — under the current rules, a surviving spouse with no competing descendants takes everything. There is no longer any sharing with the wider family when a spouse survives.

If you die intestate with no spouse, no civil partner, and no children or other descendants, the estate passes through the following statutory order until a qualifying relative is found: (1) parents — if both survive, they share equally; if one survives, they take the whole; (2) full siblings or their issue — full brothers and sisters (or their children per stirpes if a sibling has predeceased); (3) half siblings or their issue; (4) grandparents — if more than one survives, they share equally; (5) uncles and aunts (full blood) or their issue; (6) uncles and aunts (half blood) or their issue; (7) the Crown (bona vacantia) — if no relative within any of these classes survives, the estate passes to the state. Adopted children are treated as full children of the adopting family. Stepchildren have no intestacy rights. Cohabiting partners inherit nothing at any level of this order.

No — an unmarried cohabiting partner inherits nothing under the intestacy rules in England and Wales, regardless of the length of the relationship or whether there are children. The intestacy rules recognise only a 'spouse' or 'civil partner.' An unmarried partner does not appear anywhere in the statutory order. If you have no children and no valid will, the estate passes to your parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives — completely bypassing a long-term partner. A cohabiting partner who was financially dependent on the deceased may apply to the court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for a financial provision award from the estate, but this requires a court application, is uncertain in outcome, and can be expensive. The only certain protection for an unmarried partner is a will — this situation is perhaps the most urgent case for will-writing of any.

Bona vacantia (Latin: 'ownerless goods') applies when someone dies intestate with no surviving relatives within the statutory order — no spouse, no children, no parents, no siblings, no grandparents, no aunts or uncles (or their descendants). In that case, the entire estate passes to the Crown. In practice, the Treasury Solicitor (or the Duchy of Lancaster or Duchy of Cornwall in those geographic areas) takes the estate on behalf of the Crown. Bona vacantia is relatively rare for people who have any extended family at all, since the statutory order extends to aunts, uncles, and their children. However, it can affect people who are estranged from all family, are the last surviving member of their family, or whose family cannot be traced. A will entirely prevents bona vacantia — even a simple will leaving everything to a friend or charity ensures the estate does not pass to the Crown.

Separation does not end a marriage for intestacy purposes. If you are separated from your spouse but not legally divorced, you are still legally married — and under intestacy, your separated spouse inherits the entire estate (assuming no children). This surprises many people. Only a final decree of divorce (or decree absolute under the old terminology) or a dissolution order for a civil partnership ends the legal relationship and removes the intestacy entitlement. A judicial separation order also does not remove intestacy rights. The solution is either to divorce (which automatically revokes any previous gifts to the former spouse under a will) or to make a will immediately that reflects your actual wishes. There is no 'common law' separation protection under English intestacy law.

Yes — the order of death matters significantly in terms of which family ultimately receives the estate. If you die first (with a surviving spouse but no children), your spouse inherits the whole estate. When your spouse later dies, their estate (including what they inherited from you) passes according to their will or their intestacy. If your spouse has no will, your estate ultimately passes to your spouse's family under their intestacy rules — potentially bypassing your own blood relatives entirely. If you both die simultaneously or in close succession, the commorientes rule (s.184 LPA 1925) presumes the older person died first, affecting who inherits. For childless couples, both spouses should make wills — not just to direct the estate now, but to ensure that the survivor's estate eventually passes to their jointly chosen beneficiaries rather than whichever family happens to have surviving relatives.