Clients seeking advice from our specialist probate solicitors frequently ask, ‘Do I need a probate lawyer if there is no will?’ While it is not mandatory to seek expert legal advice when administering an estate when there is no will, given the complexity of the process and the time it can take to complete, most people choose to do so.
If you need help with estate administration or any other aspect of probate law and practice, our probate team is ideally placed to provide the guidance and support you need.
To speak to our experts please call us free of charge on 0800 988 3674 or Make A Free Online Enquiry.
What Happens If Someone Dies Without Leaving A Will?
When a person dies without leaving a will, they are said to have died ‘intestate’. This means that there is no legal document detailing who should be responsible for administering their estate and who should inherit their assets. As a result, the law steps in, and the Intestacy Rules dictate how the estate should be distributed.
Under the Intestacy Rules, a deceased person’s estate must be distributed among their family members, who are ranked in the following order of priority:
- Spouse or civil partner
- Children
- Parents
- Siblings and their children
- Half-siblings and their children
- Grandparents
- Aunts and uncles and their children
- Half aunts and half uncles and their children
If the deceased person has no surviving relatives, their estate will pass to the Crown.
The Intestacy Rules can have some unwelcome consequences. For example, the deceased person’s long-term partner has no entitlement to their assets if they were not married or in a civil partnership. Instead, the estate may pass to a distant relative with whom the deceased had no relationship. Accordingly, the importance of making a will cannot be overstated. While it can be uncomfortable to think of a time when you are not around to take care of your loved ones, getting your affairs in order, even when you are young and healthy, ensures that your estate goes to the people you care about when the time comes.
Do I Need A Probate Lawyer If There Is No Will?
So, do you need a probate lawyer if there is no will? There is no legal requirement to take legal advice, but the process is such that expert guidance can be invaluable.
When someone dies without leaving a will, it means that they have not appointed friends or family members to act as their executors and administer their estate. As a result, anyone who wants to take on the responsibility must apply for Letters of Administration to act as administrator and deal with the estate.
The deceased person’s closest living relative can apply to act as administrator. This might be their spouse, civil partner, or child. Their partner cannot apply unless they were married to the deceased or in a civil partnership with them. Your probate lawyer will advise you on your eligibility to act as administrator and prepare the application on your behalf.
Once you have received the Letters of Administration, you can administer the estate. This involves valuing the estate assets, paying any outstanding debts, and distributing the remainder among the beneficiaries in accordance with the Intestacy Rules. Administrators must comply with a number of legal duties while executing their duties. Your probate lawyer will advise you on the nature of those duties and the measures you should take to comply with them.
Your probate lawyer can assist you in administering the estate, providing as much or as little guidance as you need. You might prefer that they undertake the entire process, or you may wish to do the majority of it yourself and seek their guidance on discrete issues, such as the steps you should take to locate beneficiaries.
Support from a probate lawyer is also crucial if a dispute arises in connection with the administration of the estate. As we have explained above, the application of the Intestacy Rules can have some unexpected and unwelcome consequences. For example, those with close personal relationships with the deceased, such as their life partner who they were not married to or in a civil partnership with, or their stepchildren, have no legal entitlement to inherit. As a result, if these individuals were reliant on the deceased person for their basic financial needs, they may need to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. These claims are notoriously complex and rely heavily on evidence, so you would be ill-advised to try to navigate one without expert legal guidance.
If you need help with a probate matter, whether or not the deceased left a will, please contact our expert probate team for an initial, no-obligation discussion.
To speak to our experts please call us free of charge on 0800 988 3674 or Make A Free Online Enquiry.
