Who Can Apply for Probate If There Is No Will?

If there is no will, the closest living relative applies. GOV.UK puts it simply: "If there's not a will, the closest living relative can apply." Who that is follows a strict statutory order, starting with a spouse or civil partner, then children, then parents, then siblings. They apply on form PA1A and receive letters of administration rather than a grant of probate.

Dying without a valid will is called dying intestate. The estate still gets dealt with; the difference is that the law, rather than the person, decides both who may apply and who inherits. Those two questions have nearly the same answer, and that is not a coincidence: the right to apply generally follows the right to inherit.

This guide covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own intestacy rules, which differ substantially.

That is the rule on who may apply, in full. Whether a grant is needed at all, and which tax forms go with it, are separate questions with their own answers — all four possibilities are set out here.

The order of priority

The person entitled to apply is the closest surviving relative in this order:

1. Spouse or civil partner
2. Children, or their children if a child has already died
3. Parents
4. Brothers and sisters of the whole blood, or their children
5. Half-brothers and half-sisters, or their children
6. Grandparents
7. Uncles and aunts of the whole blood, or their children
8. Half-uncles and half-aunts, or their children

You work down the list. If anyone in a category is alive, that category applies and the ones below it do not. Two surviving children means both are equally entitled and either, or both, may apply.

GOV.UK has an interactive tool for checking who is entitled, and it is worth using rather than reasoning it out, particularly where a child or sibling predeceased the person.

Who the rules do not recognise

This is the part that causes the most distress, and it is worth being direct about.

Unmarried partners do not inherit under intestacy. There is no such thing as a common-law spouse in English law. A partner of thirty years who was never married to the person and was never in a civil partnership with them has no automatic entitlement to the estate and no automatic right to apply.

Stepchildren do not inherit under intestacy, unless they were legally adopted.

Close friends and carers do not inherit.

For anyone in those positions who was financially maintained by the person, the route is a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. That is a court claim with a time limit, generally six months from the grant, and it needs a solicitor. If you are in this position, take advice early rather than waiting to see what happens.

Who inherits: the statutory shares

Entitlement to apply follows entitlement to inherit, so the distribution rules matter even for the question of who applies.

Spouse or civil partner, and children

The surviving spouse or civil partner receives:

• all the personal possessions
• the first £322,000 of the estate, the statutory legacy or "fixed net sum", for deaths on or after 26 July 2023
• half of anything remaining above that

The children share the other half of the remainder equally. A child under 18 holds their share on trust until they reach 18.

The £322,000 figure comes from the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2023, which came into force on 26 July 2023. For deaths before that date, the earlier figure applies: the rules follow the date of death.

Spouse or civil partner, no children

The spouse or civil partner takes the whole estate.

Children, no spouse or civil partner

The children take the whole estate in equal shares. If a child died before the person leaving children of their own, that child's share passes to them.

No spouse, civil partner or children

Down the list: parents, then siblings, and onwards.

Nobody at all

The estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia, administered by the Government Legal Department, which publishes a list of unclaimed estates.

The joint property point

An important qualification that catches people out: the intestacy rules only govern the estate that actually passes under them.

Property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving co-owner, outside the estate and outside the intestacy rules. Joint bank accounts usually do the same. Life policies written in trust and discretionary pension death benefits typically pay a named beneficiary directly.

So a couple who owned their home as joint tenants may find that the home passes to the survivor regardless of intestacy, and that the estate governed by these rules is much smaller than the family's total wealth. Check the Land Registry title for a Form A restriction, which indicates tenants in common, before assuming.

Before applying, one thing decides what you are actually sending: whether HMRC needs full details of the estate. That is settled by the figures, not by choice, and it changes the order of everything that follows. Which of the four situations applies here.

How to apply

1. Confirm you are the person entitled

Use the GOV.UK tool. Where several people share the same entitlement, such as three siblings, agree between you who applies. Up to four can apply together.

2. Check a grant is needed at all

Intestacy does not mean a grant is automatically required. If everything was jointly held, you may need nothing. Ask each organisation directly. See do you need probate.

3. Value the estate

Same exercise as with a will: every asset and debt at the date of death, confirmed in writing. See how to value an estate. If you have only just started, what to do when someone dies covers the fortnight before this point.

4. Establish the Inheritance Tax position

Whether the estate is excepted, so values are self-certified on the application, or whether an IHT400 is needed first. See what is an excepted estate.

5. Complete PA1A, or apply online

Download the "citizen applicants" PA1A from GOV.UK, or use the online probate service, which HMCTS processes faster than paper.

With PA1A you send the official death certificate. There is no will to send, which is the one respect in which an intestacy application is simpler.

6. Pay the fee

£526 where the estate is over £5,000, no fee at or below. Extra sealed copies are £2 each with the application and £16 afterwards. Help with Fees may be available.

7. Wait

Usually within 12 weeks of submission.

Being an administrator

The job is the same as an executor's, with one legal difference that has a practical consequence.

An executor's authority comes from the will and technically exists from the moment of death. An administrator's authority comes from the grant. Before the grant is issued, an administrator has very limited power to deal with the estate.

The consequences:

• You cannot sell or transfer property before the grant.
• Banks are generally less willing to release funds than they might be to an executor, though funeral costs and the probate fee are usually exceptions.
• Do not distribute anything before the grant.

Once you have the grant, you have the same responsibilities as any personal representative: gather in the assets, pay the debts and taxes, keep proper accounts, and distribute according to the intestacy rules rather than according to what the family thinks would have been wanted.

That last point deserves emphasis. You cannot depart from the statutory shares because everyone agrees the person would have wanted something different. Beneficiaries who are all adults and all agree can, after the event, redirect their own entitlements through a deed of variation, usually within two years of the death, which can also have tax advantages. That is a solicitor's job, and it is a different thing from an administrator simply distributing differently.

When to get a solicitor

• An unmarried partner or stepchild is involved, or anyone is considering a 1975 Act claim.
• A beneficiary is under 18, which brings trusts into it and generally requires at least two administrators.
• A beneficiary lacks mental capacity.
• Relatives cannot be found, or the family tree is genuinely unclear. Missing beneficiaries are a personal liability risk and a reason to consider insurance.
• The estate is insolvent, meaning the debts exceed the assets. The order in which creditors are paid is prescribed and getting it wrong is a personal liability.
• Anyone is disputing entitlement.
• A will may exist but cannot be found. Search properly first, including with any solicitor the person used and with HMCTS's will storage service.

Frequently asked questions

Who can apply for probate if there is no will?

The closest living relative applies. GOV.UK states that if there is not a will, the closest living relative can apply. The order of priority is set by law: spouse or civil partner, then children, then parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives.

Does an unmarried partner inherit if there is no will?

No. The intestacy rules recognise spouses and civil partners only. An unmarried partner, however long the relationship, has no automatic entitlement to inherit and no automatic right to apply, though they may be able to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

What is the statutory legacy?

Where someone dies intestate leaving a spouse or civil partner and children, the surviving spouse or civil partner receives the personal possessions and a fixed net sum before the rest is divided. For deaths on or after 26 July 2023 that fixed net sum is £322,000.

What form do I use if there is no will?

Form PA1A, the HMCTS form for applying for probate by post if there is not a will. It leads to letters of administration rather than a grant of probate. You can also apply through the online probate service, which HMCTS processes faster than paper.

What is the difference between an executor and an administrator?

An executor is named in a will and their authority comes from the will itself. An administrator is appointed where there is no valid will or no executor able to act, and their authority comes from the court's grant. Both are personal representatives with the same responsibilities.

Can stepchildren inherit under intestacy?

No. The intestacy rules apply to children including legally adopted children, but not to stepchildren who were never legally adopted. A stepchild who was financially dependent may be able to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 instead.

What happens if there are no relatives at all?

If nobody is entitled under the intestacy rules, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia. The Government Legal Department administers such estates, and it publishes a list of unclaimed estates that people who believe they are entitled can check.

Can more than one person apply for letters of administration?

Yes. Up to four people can apply together, and all of them sign the legal statement. Where a beneficiary is under 18, at least two administrators are generally required, because a minor's entitlement is held on trust until they reach 18.

You now know who may apply and what they inherit. Filling in the application is separate work — hundreds of boxes on a form you complete once, under time pressure, while grieving. Here is what this estate needs, and what help completing your own forms would cost.

Sources

Checked 17 September 2026:

• GOV.UK, Applying for probate: What is probate — who can apply where there is no will
• GOV.UK, Check who can apply for probate and inherit if someone dies without a will — the interactive entitlement tool
• The Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2023, SI 2023/758 — the £322,000 fixed net sum, in force 26 July 2023
• HMCTS, Apply for probate by post if there is not a will: Form PA1A — the form and letters of administration
• GOV.UK, Applying for probate: Fees — £526, £5,000 threshold, £2 and £16 copies
• GOV.UK, Applying for probate: Apply for probate — the 12-week timescale, online versus post
• GOV.UK, Dealing with the estate of someone who's died — the personal representative's duties

Intestacy is an area where the right answer turns on family detail. This guide explains the rules in general and is not advice about a particular estate.

Related guides

• PA1P or PA1A: which probate form do you need?
• How to apply for probate without a solicitor
• How to value an estate for probate
• How much does probate cost in the UK?