What is Intestacy?

Rules of intestacy kick in if you die without leaving a will. How your money and possessions are distributed is strictly laid down in law and may not be what you wanted.

First in the pecking order is your spouse or civil partner. Then your children, followed by your parents, brothers or sisters, and then more distant relatives. It’s important to note that a surviving partner who wasn’t married or in a civil partnership does not have an automatic right to inherit and neither does a spouse’s family, however close you may have been to them.

If none of these people exist or they can’t be traced, your estate passes to the gloriously named Bona Vacantia Division, loosely translated from Latin as ‘ownerless property’. This government department will accept claims to your estate for up to 30 years. After that, it passes to the Treasury.

You may have seen the BBC TV series Heir Hunters, where probate detectives try to track down beneficiaries of estates on the Bona Vacantia list.

A chart (https://www.heritagewillwriting.co.uk/what-happens-if-i-dont-have-a-will/) detailing the order of precedence for intestate estates can be found on our website. Don’t leave your estate in a state of intestacy. Contact us at Heritage Will Writing on 02380 879243.