First: dying without a will is common, and it is manageable
Roughly half of adults in the UK have no will, so families deal with this every day. The estate does not go to the state in most cases, and nothing is frozen forever — but the process is more rigid than it would be with a will, because the law decides who inherits instead of the person who died. The formal name for this is dying 'intestate'.
The intestacy rules: who inherits what
In England and Wales, the rules work like this. If there is a surviving spouse or civil partner, they inherit all the personal belongings, a fixed legal sum off the top of the estate, and half of whatever remains. The other half is shared between the children — if a child has died, their own children take their share. If there is no spouse, the children inherit everything. If there is neither, more distant relatives inherit in a set order: parents, then siblings, then half-siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and their descendants. Only if the law finds no relative at all does the estate pass to the Crown.
- An unmarried partner inherits nothing under the intestacy rules, however long the relationship lasted — this is the single most painful gap in the rules
- Cohabiting partners, stepchildren and friends only receive anything if they make a claim under inheritance law, which has strict time limits and usually needs a solicitor
- Divorced former spouses inherit nothing; a separated but still-married spouse still does
- The rules are different in Scotland and Northern Ireland — a Scottish surviving spouse's share, for example, is calculated differently
- The fixed sum a spouse receives is set by the government and changes over time — check the current figure on GOV.UK rather than relying on a number you have seen
Who takes charge when there is no will
With a will, the named executor applies for probate. Without one, there is no executor — instead a relative applies to be the 'administrator' of the estate, and receives a document called a grant of letters of administration (in Scotland, confirmation). The law sets a priority order for who may apply: the spouse or civil partner first, then children, then parents, then siblings. The administrator has the same legal duties an executor would have: value the estate, settle debts and tax, and distribute what is left under the intestacy rules — not by family agreement.
The practical work is very similar to probate: notify the banks and other organisations, value everything as at the date of death, pay any inheritance tax owed, collect the assets and keep estate accounts. The difference is that every distribution must follow the intestacy rules exactly, and the administrator may need to show they have done so.
What happens to the house, bank accounts and joint assets
Joint assets are the reassuring part. A jointly owned bank account passes to the surviving holder automatically, and a home owned as joint tenants passes to the other owner outside the intestacy rules — neither needs probate in the usual way. A home owned as tenants in common is different: the deceased's share becomes part of the estate and is distributed under the rules, which for a couple with children can mean the surviving partner ends up co-owning their own home with their children. Sole-name accounts, shares and pensions follow the same routes described in our inheritance guide — released to the administrator once the paperwork is in place.
Distributing the assets: the order of events
- Register the death and check for any will — sometimes one turns up after a search of the house, the bank, or the national will register
- Establish who the nearest relatives are, and who has priority to apply as administrator
- Value the estate as at the date of death, including the house, accounts, savings and belongings
- Pay any inheritance tax due — some of it is usually required before the grant is issued
- Apply for letters of administration and wait for the grant
- Collect the assets: close accounts, transfer or sell shares, deal with the property
- Pay debts and administration costs, then distribute what is left strictly under the intestacy rules
- Keep full estate accounts — every beneficiary is entitled to see them
If the intestacy rules produce a result the family thinks is unfair — an unmarried partner with no legal share, a house that must be split with children, an estranged relative inheriting — get advice before acting. There are legal routes to adjust an intestate estate, but they have strict deadlines, some as short as six months from the grant.
What to do next
Start with the full death checklist for the immediate steps, and use the probate tool to work out whether formal administration is needed and what it involves. If you are the person who should apply as administrator, our probate guide walks through the application. And if this has prompted the thought for your own family, making a will is the single simplest fix — the intestacy rules almost never divide things the way people would have chosen.