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ARTICLE · 26 JANUARY 2012

Changes To The Intestacy Rules

Wedlake Bell LLP
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The Intestacy Rules set out a fixed order of inheritance for family members where a deceased person dies without making a Will.

United KingdomFamily and Matrimonial
Sally Spicer
Sally Spicer

The Intestacy Rules set out a fixed order of inheritance for family members where a deceased person dies without making a Will. The Rules have not been updated for over 20 years and have been much criticised for being out of date. 

On 14 December 2011 the Law Commission published its report on the Intestacy Rules for England and Wales. The report recommends far-reaching changes to the current Rules and is designed to modernise the law in this area. 

The most important changes to the Intestacy Rules are summarised below. 

Spouses

The main changes affect the interest of the "surviving spouse", by which I mean the deceased's husband, wife or civil partner. 

At present, where there are no children or other descendants and the deceased's estate is worth in excess of £450,000, the surviving spouse is only entitled to a limited share of the estate. This involves a legacy of £450,000, all personal chattels, and one half of the remainder. The other half passes to

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