If you die without having made a will, your estate will be subject to a set of rules.
If you are based in Worcestershire, Evesham accountants such as www.randall-payne.co.uk/services/accountancy/evesham-accountants can explain these rules in more detail, but let’s take a look at the basics.
Surviving spouses
When a property is owned as joint tenants, the property passes to the survivor if there are no children. It forms a part of the survivor’s estate and may be subject to inheritance tax when they die.
If there are children, the spouse inherits the personal chattels and a statutory legacy set at £322,000 as of 2025. Any residuary estate is divided in a 50-50 split between the surviving spouse and any children.
The rules relating to surviving spouses are dealt with by the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014.
If there is no surviving spouse
If there is no surviving spouse, there is a list of classes that inherit in order. These are:
Children of the deceased, including illegitimate children but not stepchildren. If any child has pre-deceased the interstate, their children take their place.
Parents of the intestate if there are no children.
If there are no surviving parents, siblings who share the same parents or their children are next in line.
If there are none of the above, the next classes are grandparents and whole-blood aunts and uncles or their children.
Half-blood aunts or uncles are the final class.
If there are no survivors of these classes, the Crown inherits.
