Who can inherit if there is no will?

Children of the intestate person will inherit if there is no surviving married or civil partner. If there is a surviving partner, they will inherit only if the estate is worth more than a certain amount.
Children – if there is no surviving married or civil partner

If there is no surviving partner, the children of a person who has died without leaving a will inherit the whole estate. This applies however much the estate is worth. If there are two or more children, the estate will be divided equally between them.
Children – if there is a surviving partner

If there is a surviving partner, a child only inherits from the estate if the estate is valued at over £270,000. If there are two or more children, the children will inherit in equal shares: one half of the value of the estate above £270,000.

All the children of the parent who has died intestate inherit equally from the estate. This also applies where a parent has children from different relationships.
For example, David and Angela were married and have two children, Simon and Audrey. David and Angela get divorced. David then has a child, Philip, with his new partner Suzanne. David and Suzanne do not marry. David dies. Angela does not inherit under the intestacy rules because she is divorced from David but neither does Suzanne because she has not married David. Simon, Audrey and Philip inherit all of David’s estate in equal shares.

A child whose parents are not married or have not registered a civil partnership can inherit from the estate of a parent who dies intestate. These children can also inherit from grandparents or great-grandparents who have died intestate.

Adopted children (including step-children who have been adopted by their step-parent) have the rights to inherit under the rules of intestacy. But otherwise, you have to be a biological child to inherit.

Children do not receive their inheritance immediately. They receive it when they:
reach the age of 18, or
marry or form a civil partnership under this age.
Until then, trustees manage the inheritance on their behalf.

Grandchildren and great-grandchildren
A grandchild or great-grandchild cannot inherit from the estate of an intestate person unless either:
their parent or grandparent has died before the intestate person, or
their parent is alive when the intestate person dies but dies before reaching the age of 18 without having married or formed a civil partnership.

In these circumstances, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren will inherit equal shares of the share to which their parent or grandparent would have been entitled.

Example: Abdul has two sons, Iqbal and Ismail. Ismail has one daughter, Habiba. Ismail dies when Habiba is two years old. Abdul dies intestate when she is 20. Habiba inherits Ismail’s share of Abdul’s estate.
Other close relatives

Parents, brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews of the intestate person may inherit under the rules of intestacy. This will depend on a number of circumstances:
whether there is a surviving married or civil partner
whether there are children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren.

in the case of nephews and nieces, whether the parent directly related to the person who has died is also dead the amount of the estate.

Other relatives may have a right to inherit if the person who died intestate had no surviving married partner or civil partner, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, parents, brothers, sisters, nephews, or nieces.

The order of priority amongst other relatives is as follows: –

Grandparents, Uncles and aunts. A cousin can inherit instead if the uncle or aunt who would have inherited died before the intestate person half-uncles and half-aunts. A half-cousin can inherit instead if the half-uncle or half-aunt who would have inherited died before the intestate person.