If you don’t have a will, your assets will be divided according to the rules of intestacy. In other words, the law will decide who gets what, which might not reflect what you want.
Passing away ‘intestate’ means that:
Your spouse or civil partner will inherit all your assets up to the value of £270,000. They will also inherit all your personal possessions regardless of their total value. Anything in addition to this, will be shared between your spouse/civil partner and your children.
If you don’t have children, your spouse or civil partner will inherit everything.
If you aren’t married or in a civil partnership but do have surviving relatives, they have the right to inherit your assets.
Your assets can pass to the Crown if you have no surviving relatives.
It you’re unmarried but in a relationship, it’s important to know that your partner does not have the automatic right to inherit your assets. With that in mind, if you want your unmarried partner to inherit, you’ll need to set this out in a will at the very least.