Hundred SummersIntestacy calculator: who inherits if there is no will
Who inherits, and how much, when someone dies without a will in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, and how Scotland's rules differ. Your figures never leave your browser.
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Worked example
Computed when this page was built by the same engine that runs the calculator above, so the figures below and the live tool can never disagree. Change any input above to see your own.
| Inputs | |
|---|---|
| Where | England and Wales |
| Estate after debts | £650,000 |
| Of which personal possessions | £20,000 |
| Family | Spouse and two children |
| Results | |
|---|---|
| Spouse | £496,000 |
| Children, between them | £154,000 |
| Each child | £77,000 |
The next question
Would the estate owe inheritance tax? →Inheritance tax calculator
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The rules in England and Wales
A husband, wife or civil partner with no children or other descendants takes everything. With children, the spouse takes the personal possessions, a fixed sum of £322,000 (for deaths since 26 July 2023) and half of whatever is left; the children share the other half equally, held on trust until they reach 18. A child who died first is represented by their own children. Without a spouse, the estate goes whole to the nearest class of relatives: children, then parents, then full brothers and sisters, half-brothers and half-sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, half-aunts and half-uncles, and if there are none, the Crown. The spouse must outlive the person by 28 days.
What the rules leave out
Unmarried partners inherit nothing, nor do stepchildren. Some things never pass under the rules at all: a home or account owned as joint tenants goes straight to the other owner, and pensions and life policies written in trust go to whoever the scheme or trust decides, usually guided by your nomination. A will, a pension nomination and the way you own your home decide far more than the rules do.
Northern Ireland and Scotland
In Northern Ireland the spouse's fixed sum is £250,000 if there are children, then half the rest with one child or a third with more. With no children, the spouse takes £450,000 and half the rest if parents, brothers or sisters survive, and everything if not. In Scotland a spouse first takes prior rights (the home up to £473,000, furniture up to £29,000, cash of £50,000 or £89,000), then spouse and children have legal rights in money, investments and belongings, and the rest follows a fixed order; the calculator explains these rather than dividing the estate, because the split depends on which assets are land and buildings.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Check who can inherit if someone dies without a will.
- HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual, IHTM12172: intestacy in Northern Ireland, statutory legacy.
- The Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2023; The Prior Rights of Surviving Spouse and Civil Partner (Scotland) Order 2011; Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024, section 77.