100 Years of Intestacy Rules

Enacted on the 9th April 1925, Administration of Estates Act (1925) came into force on the 1^st January 1926, and has since dictated the rules on how a deceased persons estate is distributed in the absence of a valid Will. These are known as the intestacy rules.

What are the rules?

The Act dictates the order of entitlement for Inheritance as follows:

• Married couples and civil partners
• Children
• Parents
• Siblings of whole blood (or their children)
• Siblings of half-blood (or their children)
• Grandparents
• Uncles or aunts of whole blood (or their children)
• Uncles or aunts of half-blood (or their children)

These are the only entitled family members before the estate passes to the Crown (or the relevant Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall). This is known as bona vacantia.

As you can see this doesn’t include cohabiting partners, ‘in laws’, foster children or stepchildren, and even other people that you may wish to benefit from your estate such as good friends.

This is also the priority order when it comes to who can be appointed as administrator deal with the affairs of the deceased’s intestate estate. This may not necessarily be who you wish to deal with the administration of your estate.

This priority order will also apply in cases of partial intestacy. This is where there is a valid Will in place, but it doesn’t deal with the whole of the deceased’s estate.

The rules are often criticised because of their archaic nature and that they do not reflect modern family units, particularly for unmarried cohabiting partners and blended families including stepchildren. This is because the rules were made at a time where those family structures were far less common, society a century ago was very different and social norms dictated that married couples lived together and had children. Getting a divorce was also quite rare. The rules have not been formally revised since this Act.

There is also a risk of inefficiency when it comes to Inheritance Tax. A statutory legacy is the sum that a surviving spouse/civil partner is entitled to receive when a person dies intestate leaving surviving children (whether or not those children are over 18). The Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2023 increased this statutory legacy to £322,000.00. The surviving spouse/civil partner will be entitled to receive the first £322,000.00 of assets along with the deceaseds personal effects, and the remainder of the estate is divided equally between the surviving spouse/civil partner and then to children. It is still therefore important for married couples to create wills to ensure greater financial planning.

To ensure your wishes are followed it is crucial that you make a Will, albeit the Intestacy Rules can be seen as a safety net, they are not a replacement.

Contact our Private Client team today and we will be happy to talk you through making or amending your Will or call 0800 088 6004.