What happens if I don’t have a Will?

A recent survey conducted by the Law Society, just after the first lockdown restrictions began to ease, found that 59% of those surveyed did not have a Will in place. In light of this significant statistic, our Private Client team have set out what happens when somebody dies without leaving a Will, including some of the potential pitfalls that can ensue which have been highlighted in ITV’s recent drama, Finding Alice.

Rules of Intestacy

When somebody dies without leaving a Will, they are said to have died ‘intestate’. Rather than having a Will setting out who can manage their estate and who will receive the benefit of it, there are a set of prescribed rules which will determine these factors based on their relationship to the deceased. These rules are referred to as the Rules of Intestacy. Parts of the Rules are set out below: