What To Do If Someone Dies Without A Will

There are a few things to think about if someone dies without a will. We’ll go through what this means and how things work in this article, so you know how to deal with the situation if you have to.

This article covers the situation if someone dies without a will in Northern Ireland.

What’s the legal term for dying without a will?

The legal term for dying without a will is ‘dying intestate.’ The person who has died without a will is called an ‘intestate person,’ or someone who ‘died intestate.’

Who can deal with the estate of the person who’s died?

If there’s no will, it’s usually a close relative who the law allows to sort out the estate. ‘The estate’ is the technical name for a person’s property, possessions and money. That relative could be a married or civil partner, their child or their parent.

There’s a formal step to take before the estate can be sorted out, which we’ll look at in the next section.

What formal steps do you need to take to be allowed to sort out the estate?

You’ll need to apply to become the ‘administrator’ of the estate of the person who’s died. This means you’ll have to apply to the Probate Registry for a document called a ‘grant of letters of administration.’

What is a grant of letters of administration?

The grant is proof you can show to banks, building societies and other organisations that you’ve got the legal authority to deal with the estate.

It’s important to point out here that if there’s any inheritance tax to pay on the estate, you’ll need to pay some or all of it first before the grant is issued. You can read more about inheritance tax in our article here.

Do you always need a grant?

No. A grant might not be needed if everything in the person’s estate is in joint names. This is because the law says everything will then automatically pass to the surviving person.

Also, you might not need a grant if the person’s estate comes to less than £10,000 in total and as long as it doesn’t contain any property, land or shares.

Who can inherit what if there’s no will?

Only certain people can inherit when a person dies intestate. In Northern Ireland, there’s an order that the rules follow when working out who gets what. This depends on the circumstances of the person who’s died.

We’ll cover the order of inheritance in the rest of this article.

Married and civil partners

If the person who died has a surviving married or civil partner, the below rules apply:

Where the estate is worth £250,000 or less: The married or civil partner inherits everything.
Where the estate is worth more than £250,000: The married or civil partner will receive £250,000 tax-free and personal items.

If there’s one child, they’ll receive half of the ‘residue’ remaining, which is the amount left over. And if there’s more than one child, they’ll receive a one-third share of any residue remaining.

What happens to the rest of the estate?

The rest of the estate will be shared out in this order:

Children will get an equal share. If there are no children, grandchildren are next in line
If there’re no children or grandchildren, surviving parents will get a share
Brothers and sisters are next in line to get a share if there’re no children, grandchildren or surviving parents. Or, nieces and nephews will get a share if any brothers and sisters died while the person whose estate is being sorted out was still alive
The married or civil partner will inherit everything if there’re none of the above people to consider
What if there’s no surviving married or civil partner?

If there’s no surviving married or civil partner, the estate will be shared out in this order:

Children will get an equal share, or their grandchildren will if the children died while the person whose estate is being sorted out was still alive
If there’re no children or grandchildren, surviving parents will get a share, which will be an equal share if they’re both still alive
Brothers and sisters are next in line to get a share if there’re no children, grandchildren or surviving parents. Or, nieces and nephews will get a share if any brothers and sisters died while the person whose estate is being sorted out was still alive
If there’re none of the above then the estate will to any grandparents, which will be in an equal share if there’s more than one
If there’re no grandparents, aunts and uncles are next in line, or their children if they died while the person whose estate is being sorted out was still alive
If there’re none of the above people to consider, everything will go to the Crown via the Crown Solicitor's Office

What if there’s a surviving partner, but they’re not a married or civil partner?

In this case, there’s no automatic right for the surviving partner to inherit anything if there’s no will.

The surviving partner might have to make a claim under a piece of legislation called the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) (Northern Ireland) Order 1979. This rule can be found on the legislation.gov.uk website by clicking here.

Can a solicitor help me with sorting out the estate of someone who’s died without a will?

Yes. It’s a good idea to contact a solicitor if you need help with sorting out the estate of someone who’s died without a will. You can find a solicitor who specialises in this area by looking on The Law Society of Northern Ireland’s Solicitor Directory here.

Can anyone else help me with sorting out the estate of someone who’s died without a will?

Yes. You can contact the Probate and Inheritance Tax Helpline. You can phone them between 9:00am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday except Bank Holidays on this number: 0300 123 1072.