Intestacy Rules - The Increase in Statutory Legacy in 2023

What is Intestacy?

Intestacy is where someone dies without a Will, or without a valid Will. The Rules of Intestacy means that a deceased person’s estate will be distributed in accordance with these rules, and this may mean that the estate is not distributed in accordance with the deceased’s intentions.  

Under the rules of intestacy, the estate of the deceased is distributed in a particular way depending on who survives, how they are related to the deceased and how many individuals there are. The rules can be complicated, but there is an order of priority as to who inherits.

When someone dies intestate, but they leave a surviving spouse or civil partner and direct descendants, there is a statutory legacy that applies.

What is the Statutory Legacy?

Since 11^th October 2014, the Statutory Legacy has been £250,000. This was increased to £270,000 on 6^th February 2020. However, as of the 26^th July 2023, the Statutory Legacy will increase again to £322,000.

What Does This Change Mean?

This means that as of 26^th July 2023, if someone dies intestate, leaving a spouse or civil partner and children then the Statutory Legacy will apply.

The surviving spouse or civil partner will inherit the first £322,000 of the estate, all personal possessions and half of the remainder of the estate. The deceased’s children will receive the second half of the remainder of the estate, i.e. half of anything above the Statutory Legacy.

One of the implications of this is that a spouse or civil partner will receive a significantly higher sum of money before the deceased’s children receive any share of the estate.

What Can You Do?

To avoid an estate passing under the intestacy rules you should prepare a Will. This ensures that your estate will pass in accordance with your wishes and to your chosen beneficiaries. Here at Johnson Astills, we can provide our clients with legal advice to help ensure that our clients’ estates are dealt with in accordance with their wishes - whether this is through drafting Wills for them, or updating an existing Will with a Codicil. Please call our expert solicitors at Johnson Astills who would be pleased to assist you with this.

If you do not have a Will in place and you would like to discuss what this means upon your death, please contact our specialist Wills Solicitors at Johnson Astills and we would be more than happy to discuss your requirements further. Please call us at our office in Leicester or our office in Loughborough. Alternatively, you may prefer to email us at legal@johnsonastills.com or fill in our enquiry form.