Probate when there is no will
Last checked September 2026 by Naomi Jackson
Short answer
When someone dies without a will you apply for letters of administration rather than a grant of probate. The closest relative in a fixed legal order applies, usually the spouse or civil partner, then children. The intestacy rules then decide who inherits, and unmarried partners inherit nothing automatically.
- Document you apply for
- Letters of administration
- Who applies
- The closest relative, in a fixed legal order
- Court fee
- £526 in England and Wales for estates over £5,000
- Unmarried partner
- Inherits nothing automatically
- Scotland
- Different rules: prior and legal rights apply
Without a will there is no executor, so the law decides both who can apply and who inherits. Neither is a matter of choice.
Who can apply
In England and Wales the order of priority is set by the Non-Contentious Probate Rules: the spouse or civil partner first, then children (or their children), then parents, then brothers and sisters, and on outwards. Someone earlier in the order has to decline before someone later can apply. Up to four people can apply together, and where a beneficiary is under 18 at least two administrators are usually required.
Who inherits under intestacy
In England and Wales, if there is a spouse or civil partner and no children, they take everything. If there are children, the spouse takes the personal possessions, a statutory legacy (£322,000 at the time of writing) and half of what is left; the children share the rest. If there is no spouse, the estate passes down the same order of relatives. Unmarried partners and stepchildren inherit nothing automatically, however long the relationship lasted.
Scotland and Northern Ireland differ
Scotland has prior rights (the home, furnishings and a cash sum for a surviving spouse) and legal rights (a fixed share of moveable estate for a spouse and children that cannot be defeated). Northern Ireland has its own statutory legacy figures. Take advice before distributing anything if you are dealing with an estate in either nation.
If you were the partner and not married
You may be able to make a claim against the estate as a dependant, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 in England and Wales. There is a strict six-month deadline from the grant, so get advice quickly rather than waiting to see what happens.
Useful tools for this
Free tools to help you work out what applies before you pay for help.
Frequently asked questions
Is letters of administration the same as probate?
It does the same job, but it is issued when there is no will or no willing executor. Banks and the Land Registry treat it the same way. People often use the word probate to mean both.
Can we agree between ourselves who gets what?
The beneficiaries entitled under intestacy can redirect their own shares using a deed of variation within two years of the death, which can also help with inheritance tax. You cannot simply ignore the rules and divide things as you see fit.
What if nobody applies?
The estate stays frozen. If there are no traceable relatives the estate can eventually pass to the Crown as bona vacantia, and the Treasury Solicitor publishes an unclaimed estates list.
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Check if you need probateMore guides in this series
What happens if there's no will (intestacy) in the UK
If someone dies without a will in the UK, the intestacy rules decide who inherits. Here's the order, and where it differs in Scotland.
Do I need a probate solicitor?
Most straightforward estates don't need one. Here's when a solicitor is worth the cost, when it isn't, and what it should cost either way.
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