Statutory Legacy: When Someone Dies Without a Will

Section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (as amended) sets out the priority order:

1. Spouse or civil partner with children: spouse takes all personal possessions + statutory legacy (£322,000) + half the remaining estate. Children take the other half (held on trust if under 18).
2. Spouse or civil partner with no children: spouse takes the entire estate.
3. No spouse, children: children take the entire estate in equal shares (per stirpes for grandchildren of deceased child).
4. No spouse, no children, parents: parents take the entire estate.
5. No parents: siblings (whole blood) take the entire estate. Half-blood siblings only if no whole-blood siblings.
6. No siblings: grandparents, then aunts and uncles, then half-blood aunts and uncles.
7. No qualifying relatives: estate passes to the Crown as "bona vacantia".

The "statutory legacy" amount is uprated periodically by the Lord Chancellor under the Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014. From 26 July 2023 it is £322,000. Before then it was £270,000 (from October 2020), and £250,000 before that.

The spouse/civil partner has a strong position. Specifically:

• Personal chattels: all household goods, jewellery, vehicles, art etc. (defined by Administration of Estates Act 1925 s.55(1)(x) as amended). Tangible movable property used for personal use, excluding things held as investments or business assets.
• Statutory legacy: £322,000 from the residuary estate, with interest from the date of death until paid.
• Half the remaining residue: if there are children.
• Right to require the home to be appropriated: under the Intestates' Estates Act 1952, the surviving spouse can elect to receive the matrimonial home as part of their share (sometimes paying back into the estate if the home is worth more than their share).

If the spouse is the only beneficiary (no children, parents, siblings), they take the lot.

Important: separated but not divorced spouses still inherit under intestacy. This is a frequent cause of conflict — the deceased may have intended to write the ex-spouse out by making a will but never did so.

Children of the deceased take in equal shares:

• If a spouse survives: children share half of whatever exceeds £322,000.
• If no spouse: children share the entire estate.

"Children" means biological and legally adopted children. Stepchildren are NOT children for intestacy purposes (unless adopted). Children born outside marriage have full rights since the Family Law Reform Act 1987.

If a child has predeceased the parent leaving children of their own, the grandchildren inherit per stirpes — their parent's share is divided among them.

Children's shares of under-18s are held on statutory trust. Trustees (often the parents or surviving spouse) manage the share until the child reaches 18 or marries, then it vests absolutely. The trust uses the statutory powers of investment under the Trustee Act 2000.

Two groups suffer most under intestacy:

• Unmarried partners (cohabitees) — even decades-long partners inherit NOTHING under intestacy. The home you shared, the joint savings (in your partner's name only), the personal items — all go to the deceased's blood relatives. Many people believe in a "common-law marriage" — but there is no such thing in English law for inheritance purposes.
• Stepchildren — stepchildren raised as part of the family from a young age inherit nothing under intestacy. They can be passed over for biological children the deceased may have never met.

Both groups can claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 — see next section.

The lesson: write a will. Intestacy rarely produces the result a modern family would have chosen.

The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows specific categories of person to apply to court for "reasonable financial provision":

• Spouse or civil partner.
• Former spouse/civil partner who has not remarried.
• Cohabitee living with the deceased as if married for the 2 years immediately before death.
• Child of the deceased (including adult children).
• Person treated as a child of the family in relation to the deceased's marriage/partnership (this includes stepchildren raised by the deceased).
• Any other person who was being maintained by the deceased.

The test for "reasonable financial provision":

• For spouse: such provision as is reasonable in all the circumstances for a spouse, whether or not required for maintenance.
• For all others: such provision as is reasonable for their maintenance.

Time limit: 6 months from the grant of probate or letters of administration. Late applications are rarely permitted (Berger v Berger [2013] gives some discretion). Get advice immediately if you think you should have inherited.

Settlement is common — most claims settle before trial because the result is often unpredictable and litigation costs are high. Mediation through Inheritance Disputes Resolution or via a specialist family/contentious probate solicitor is the practical route.