Over half of UK adults don’t have a will – what to do if your loved one dies without one

• 56% of UK adults aged 18 and over do not have a will, including 53% of adults aged 50-64. 
• Jackie Spencer, Head of Money and Pensions Policy at MaPS, shares six pieces of MoneyHelper guidance to consider and stresses the importance of writing a will so your loved ones know your wishes when you die. 
• If you’re managing the estate of a loved one who’s passed away without a will, the key things to think about include: whether you should use a solicitor or probate specialist, how to apply for probate, how to collect the assets and paying off debts and taxes. 

Money may not be the first thing on your mind if you’ve lost someone close to you. When you’re ready though, you will find there can be a lot to sort out.  

Research from the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) shows that 53% of adults aged 50-64 and 22% of those aged 65 and over do not have a will. 

Sorting out an estate when there isn’t a will is going to take a bit longer than when there is one, but it’s not as difficult or scary as you might think.  

Jackie Spencer, Head of Money and Pensions Policy at MaPS, shares six pieces of MoneyHelper guidanceOpens in a new window to consider: 

A person who dies without a will is known as ‘dying intestate’. This can make sorting out their estate a bit more complicated because the law decides who inherits according to certain criteria called ‘intestacy rules’.  

If there is a relative or friend who is willing and able to sort out the estate, they can apply for a ‘grant of letters of administration’ – also known as a grant of representation, grant of probate, or confirmation (in Scotland).  

The grant makes them the ‘administrator’ of the estate and allows them to value the estate, pay any debts and distribute the estate according to the intestacy rules.  

Sorting out an estate where there is no will is sometimes tricky. Especially if it is not clear what assets the person had, or there are complicated family relationships which make distributing the estate difficult. In these types of situations, it is sensible to consider using a solicitor or accountant that specialises in probate. This will help make the process easier and a bit quicker. 

It is worth knowing that using a probate specialist can be expensive and you should budget several thousand pounds for their services. If you decide to take on the job of administering the estate yourself, you can still pay a solicitor for their time if there are some things such as checking over the probate application or working out how to distribute the estate.

The first step in applying for probate is to find certain documents and make copies of them. Documents you’ll need include: death certificate, birth certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate. You’ll need to attach copies of these various documents to probate formsOpens in a new window, and to access the person who’s died’s bank account, investments or life insurance.  

Before you apply for probate, you will need to value the estate as you will need to include information about how much it is worth. To do this, you will need to find out the value of any assets, the value of any gifts that the person gave away in the seven years before they died, how much debt they have, and how much the estate is worth once the debts are paid. You will also need to find out whether any assets were jointly owned.

You can get access to the person who’s died’s financial assets (such as bank accounts) by asking banks and other institutions to release the assets to you.

You should open a separate bank account for the estate, to avoid it getting confused with your own personal bank accounts. It will also make it easier for you to see the value of the financial assets and might help avoid any disagreements.

Once you have got the value of the estate, you will also need to work out the Inheritance Tax due. You can find out more about how to calculate this by visiting our guide on MoneyHelperOpens in a new window.  

Once you have valued the estate, you will need to fill in a few forms and send it to the nearest Probate Registry office. You will also need to pay an application fee. How much you need to pay and what forms you need to fill in depend on if you live in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Once they have received your application, the probate office will contact you to explain the next steps.  

When you have probate, you can then contact the organisations that are holding the person who’s died’s assets, such as the bank or private pension provider. They will ask for a copy of the probate or confirmation letter before they release the assets. You can then pay the various debts and the taxes due.

After you have paid the debts and taxes, you must distribute the estate according to the intestacy rules. For more details on working out how to distribute the estate, visit the UK government websiteOpens in a new window.

For more information about how to write a will and help your loved ones understand your wishes after your death, visit MoneyHelperOpens in a new window.

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• The data presented with this press release has been taken from the 2021 Adult Financial Wellbeing Survey, a nationally representative survey of 10,306 adults living in the UK.