Succession Law in the

United Kingdom
By: Veronika Virkenborg
Introduction

Succession, also so called inheritance.

In Civil Law called the Law of Succession

In Anglo-American Common Law there is a distinction

between descent of real estate and distribution of
personal estate.
Intestacy

The condition of the estate of a person who dies

owning property without having made a valid will
or another binding declaration.
May also apply where a will or declaration has been
made, but only applies to a part of the estate.
Historical background
Common law clearly distinguished between real
property and chattels.
Real property without will disposition were passed by
the law of kinship and descent.
Chattel property without will disposition were passed to
the crown or given to the Church for charitable
purposes.
Current law
In most common law jurisdictions, the law of succession
is patterned after the common law of descent.
Property goes to, in the following order:
1. Spouse
2. Children
3. Children's descendants
4. Parents
5. Siblings
6. Sibling’s descendants
Current law

Today, if the person that died does not have any

identifiable heirs, the persons estate is generally legally
assigned to the Crown.
Current law
In the United Kingdom the intestacy rules have been
uniform since 1925.
Similar rules apply in many commonwealth countries
and crown dependencies, such as e.g. Ireland.
The rules have been supplemented by the discretionary
provisions of the of the Inheritance Act of 1975, The
Provisions for Family and Dependants.
In order to provide fair provisions for dependent spouses
or other relatives.
Division of property
If no children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren
then the spouse or civil partner inherits all personal
belongings, the entire estate since October 2014,
earlier the first £450,000 of the estate and the half of
the amount above £450,000.
If there are children, grandchildren or great-
grandchildren then the spouse or civil partner inherits
all personal belongings, the first £250,000 of the estate
and then half of the remainder since October 2014,
earlier a lifetime interest in half of the amount above
£250,000.
Division of larger estates
The spouse will not receive the entire estate when it come to
larger estates, if the decreased left other blood relatives but
no will.
The spouse will in that case receive the following:
1. All property passing to them by survivorship.
2. All property passing under the terms of trust.
3. A statutory legacy of a fixed sum.
4. A life interest in half of the remaining estate.

The children or more distant relatives if there are no children,

will be entitled to half of the estate remaining immediately
and the remaining half on the death of the surviving spouse.
Inheritance taxes
In the United Kingdom there is an inheritance tax which
is a transfer tax.
Introduced with effect from 18 March 1986, replacing
the Capital Transfer Tax.
Paid if a persons estate is worth more than £325,000
when they die, that is the inheritance tax threshold.
The rate is 40% on anything above the threshold.

May be reduced to 36% if more than 10% of the estate is

left to charity.
Forced heirship
Where a person dies without leaving a will, rules of
succession of the persons place of residence apply.
Principality where the property is located to have
jurisdiction regardless of the descents residence.
Not found in common law jurisdiction.

Since rules of succession without a will play a back up

role in the common law where an individual has not
exercised his/her right to dispose of property in a will.
Sources
https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/if-the-p
erson-didnt-leave-a-will
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/288190/i
nheritance
https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/overview

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29436533