Intestacy
Where a person dies without a valid will, the intestacy rules determine who inherits and in what shares.
What "Intestacy" covers
- Intestacy is governed by the Administration of Estates Act 1925 s.46, as amended by the Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014.
- A surviving spouse or civil partner must survive the deceased by 28 days to inherit.
- Where there is a spouse and issue: the spouse takes the personal chattels, a statutory legacy of £322,000 (for deaths on or after 26 July 2023) plus statutory interest, and half of the residue absolutely; the issue take the other half on the statutory trusts.
- Where there is a spouse but no issue: the spouse takes the whole estate absolutely.
- With no spouse, the estate passes to issue on the statutory trusts; if none, to parents, then siblings of the whole blood, and so on down the statutory order.
- The statutory trusts make issue's entitlement contingent on reaching 18 or earlier marriage, with substitution of a deceased beneficiary's own issue.
- If no relative within the statutory order survives, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia.
Key cases & statutes
The authorities and provisions most likely to matter for this subtopic:
How it's tested in SQE1
SQE1 uses single best answer questions: a short factual scenario, one precise question, and five options of which only one is the best answer on the law applied to the facts. For intestacy, expect to be asked what the correct legal position is, what a party may or must do, or which outcome follows — with more than one option looking arguable. Reading the facts carefully and eliminating the near-misses is the skill that earns the mark.
Where candidates lose marks
- Using the outdated £270,000 statutory legacy figure.
- Forgetting the 28-day survivorship requirement for the spouse.
- Assuming the spouse takes everything even where the deceased left issue.
Learn this subtopic in the course
A video lesson, notes and exam-style practice on intestacy.
FAQ
Is intestacy tested on SQE1?
Yes — intestacy is part of the SQE1 Wills & Administration of Estates syllabus (FLK2) and can appear in single best answer questions.
How is intestacy examined in SQE1?
SQE1 tests it by application: you're given a realistic scenario and choose the single best answer from five options. The focus is on using the law correctly, not reciting it — knowing the leading authorities (Administration of Estates Act 1925 s.46, Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014) helps.