What happens if I die without making a valid Will?

This is known as dying Intestate. The Intestacy rules make provision for spouses and certain blood relatives to inherit your assets when you die.  However, the division between your family can be very complicated and it isn’t usually as expected or as you would have intended. 

Where there is no Will, a surviving spouse might not be sufficiently provided for financially. In addition, young children may have access to wealth before they are financially mature.  

Any unmarried partners, friends, charitable organisations, step-children and step-grandchildren would not inherit your estate if you didn’t make a Will.  Instead, only spouses, blood relatives and persons adopted into your family would be included.  This could include distant or estranged blood relatives.  If you had no surviving relatives, your estate would pass to the Crown. 

If you make a Will, you decide who should sort everything out when you die.  This is known as an Executor.  It isn’t always appropriate for family members to be Executors.  If there isn’t a Will, your heirs under Intestacy would be tasked with sorting everything out.

When establishing how an estate is to be distributed on Intestacy, it is usually necessary to involve Probate Genealogists.  The close family often have no idea about illegitimate relatives who are entitled to share in an estate.  Involving Genealogists involves considerable financial cost to your estate.  Additionally, insurance is often required: this is to protect the person(s) who administer your estate from future claims made by additional unknown heirs in future years who hadn’t been identified.  The insurance covers heirs where the father’s name isn’t featured on the birth certificate, for example.  The cost of obtaining insurance can run into thousands of pounds. 

It can take years to distribute an estate where there isn’t a Will as all heirs must be located and insurance obtained beforehand.  Most insurers will not offer cover without a comprehensive report in place from professional Genealogists and this takes time to finalise.

If you wish to specify the person(s) or organisation(s) who should inherit your estate, you must make a Will. This is something which we can help you with. 

Contact us

If you would like more information please call one of our expert Solicitors on York 01904 716000, Wetherby 01937 583210 or Malton 01653 692247.