Surprise Inheritance Of £250,000 – A Guide To Who Can Inherit If There Is No Will

A 70-year-old recluse who was living in a dilapidated terraced house with no electricity or gas has left his 31 relatives who he never knew about a surprise inheritance of £250,000.

Richard Ticehurst was found dead in his home in early 2022. His home was in a state of disrepair; the ceilings on the top floor had collapsed. Without electricity in the house, it was said that he used a torch on his head in the evenings. He did not leave a Will. He had never married or had any children. Neither was he known to have been in contact with family or friends; little was known about his family. Genealogist firm Finders International thus started a search for his relatives who would inherit his estate.

Since Richard’s mother was also a single child, the research team focused on searching for members on the father’s side of the family. 31 relatives were found, spread across five countries. One of the surprised beneficiaries, now living thousands of miles away in Australia, only came to know about Richard when she was told that her mother was a first cousin of his. The depressing death of Richard has a silver lining. A family scattered across various continents has reconnected because of Richard’s estate. He lived as a recluse but has brought the family back together with a little surprise fortune for each after he left this world.

Who can inherit if there is no Will?

When a person dies without leaving a valid Will, their estate will be distributed according to the rules of intestacy, which only allow married or civil partners and certain close relatives to inherit. The order of entitlement is set out in section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925.

1. Married or civil partners

Married or civil partners inherit under the rules of intestacy only if they are actually married or in a civil partnership at the time of death. If the couple had divorced or if the civil partnership has been legally ended, the partner cannot inherit under the rules of intestacy. Partners who separated informally can still inherit but cohabiting partners who were neither married nor in a civil partnership cannot inherit.

If there are surviving children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren, and the estate is valued at more than £270,000, the partner will inherit:

If there are no surviving children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren, the partner will inherit:

2. Children

If there is no surviving partner, the children will inherit the whole estate, to be divided equally between them.

If there is a surviving partner, the children will only inherit the remaining half of the estate after the surviving partner’s entitlement set out above, and the share is split equally between them.

All biological and adopted children of the deceased can inherit, even if the parents were not married or in a civil partnership at the time of death, and even if the children are from different relationships, they are all entitled to equal shares in the remaining half of the estate.

Children who are under the age of 18 do not inherit immediately until they have reached 18, or marry or form a civil partnership before 18. Meanwhile, their share will be managed by a trustee. Whilst the above seems relatively straightforward, there are many scenarios where siblings will not be known to each other and this in turn leads to a dispute as to whether an individual claiming to be a child of the deceased is truly a descendant. In such circumstances, it is possible to make an application to the Court for a declaration as to whether someone is a child of the Deceased. Usually, such claims involve some DNA testing.

3. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren

A grandchild or great-grandchild cannot inherit unless either:

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.

4. Other relatives

If the deceased leaves no surviving partner and no children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren but one or both parents of the deceased are still alive, the parent(s) will inherit the entire estate and in equal shares between them (if both parents survive the deceased).

In the event that both parents also have passed away before the deceased, the order of inheritance will be: brothers and sisters of the whole blood, brothers and sisters of the half blood, grandparents, uncles, and aunts of the whole blood of a parent of the deceased, and then uncle and aunts of the half blood of a parent of the deceased.

If the intestate deceased has left none of the persons entitled to inherit under the intestacy rules, the estate will revert to the Crown.

Comment

Whilst Richard Ticehurst’s case has turned out to be a heart-warming family reunion, it is not always a happy case for inheritance under intestacy rules. Therefore, if you wish your estate to be inherited by your loved ones the way you wish, it is important to have a Will prepared by professional drafters to ensure that your wishes are properly recorded.