Intestacy | Kew Law

What are the Intestacy Rules?

When do they apply?

The ‘intestacy rules’ govern the distribution of a deceased’s estate when the deceased has died either:

Wholly intestate (i.e. without disposing of any property by a will due to never making one or their will being invalid)

In these circumstances the entire estate will be governed by the intestacy rules.

Partially intestate (i.e. there is a valid will but it does not dispose of the whole of the estate).

In these circumstances the rules will only apply to the deceased’s property that does not pass under the will.

Who is entitled to a grant of administration?

The order of persons entitled to apply for grant of administration is governed by the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987. The order broadly follows the order of entitlement to share in the estate of the intestate (as seen below). For anyone in a lower category wishing to obtain the grant they would have to satisfactorily account for all those in a higher category.

The obtaining of a grant can be stressful and time consuming. It can involve a personal attendance at Court. Kew Law LLP can offer a fixed-fee service whereby we prepare the papers that lead to a grant of administration and make an application to the Court on your behalf.

Who is entitled to the estate?

There is no entitlement under the intestacy rules for a divorced spouse or a spouse judicially separated but he/she may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 through the Courts. Similar provisions apply where the deceased left a surviving civil partner.

Leaving a Spouse (or civil partner) alone

Where the deceased has no children, parents or siblings of the whole blood (or their issue) the personal representatives will hold the whole of the residuary estate for the surviving spouse.

Leaving a Spouse (or civil partner) and issue

The spouse (or civil partner) is entitled to:

The personal chattels absolutely
Statutory legacy of £250,000, free of costs, with interest from the date of death until payment
Life interest in one-half of the residuary estate. Thus, if anything remains after the personal chattels and the statutory legacy have been paid, the spouse or civil partner is entitled to the income for life from one-half of the balance of the estate.

All property passing to the surviving spouse or civil partner under these rules passes tax free as if it enjoys the benefit of the inheritance tax spouse/civil partner exemption.

The issue are entitled to the other half of the residuary estate. Once the spouse (or civil partner) dies then the issue are entitled to the other half of the residuary estate in which the deceased had a life interest.

Leaving a Spouse (or civil partner) – no issue but parent(s) or brothers/sisters of the whole blood

The spouse (or civil partner) is entitled to:

The personal chattels absolutely
Statutory legacy of £450,000, free of costs, with interest from the date of death until payment
One-half of the residuary estate (ie the capital) absolutely

The other half of the residuary estate passes to the intestate’s parent(s) or, if neither survives, to the brothers of the whole blood or their issue on the statutory trusts.

Other relatives of the intestate

If there are no surviving spouse/civil partner or issue, the order of entitlement to share in the estate is as follows:

Parents (equally if both alive); but if none then
Brothers and sisters of the whole blood (ie share the same parents as the deceased) on the statutory trusts; but if none then
Brothers and sisters of the half blood (ie who share one parent with the deceased) on the statutory trusts; but if none then
Grandparents (equally if more than one); but if none then
Uncles and aunts of the whole blood (ie brothers and sisters of the whole blood of one of the intestate’s parents) on the statutory trusts. It is blood relatives of the intestate who are entitled, not those related by marriage.