How Much Easier is it to Administer an Estate with a Will than Without One?

Winding up an estate after the death of someone close to you is typically a significant responsibility. Depending on the personal circumstances of the person who has died, this can be a fairly substantial job, not least because you’ll likely be doing it at the same time as managing the more emotional side of the loss. 

Though variables such as:

• The size of the estate.
• The type of assets that make up the estate.
• Whether or not the estate holds any assets overseas.
• The family make-up of the person who has died.

Will all have a big impact on the process of administering the estate, it will also be significantly affected by one simple fact: whether or not there is a valid Will in place.

Why does a Will make such a big difference?

An estate that has a valid Will in place can be a great deal more straightforward to manage than an estate that has no Will or an invalid Will in place. The reason for this is fairly simple: because a valid Will is designed to give clear instructions about how the estate should be wound up and distributed.

In situations where there is no Will – or when there is a Will but it is deemed invalid – then this means that no instructions have been left. In matters like these, the estate will need to be administered according to the intestacy rules, no matter how much of a poor fit they may seem in the circumstances.

What could the intestacy rules mean for your estate?

The intestacy rules set out very clear guidelines for how assets from an estate should be distributed when there is no valid Will. 

In situations like these, the following individuals would likely inherit the assets from your estate (in order of legal preference):

• Your spouse or civil partner (this would not include an unmarried partner, but would include a spouse or civil partner you were separated from). 
• Your children or grandchildren (this would not include step-children). 
• Your parents. 
• Your siblings or their children (any full-siblings here would take precedence over any half-siblings). 
• Your grandparents.
• Your aunts and uncles and their children (again, any full-aunts and uncles would take precedence over any half-aunts and uncles). 
• The crown.

This often comes as a surprise, particularly for those with blended families or long-term unmarried partners.

If you’d like to get a clearer idea of who would stand to inherit your estate according to the intestacy rules, you can use our online quiz to find out. 

Who will act as the personal representative of the estate?

The other significant way in which the process differs in the absence of a Will is the question of who will take on the responsibility of acting on behalf of the estate. 

The individual who was closest to the person who has died will need to apply to the Probate Office for permission to act on behalf of the estate. There are strict rules about who is entitled to do this. Usually, the ‘most entitled person’ will be the spouse, civil partner or adult child of the person who has died. 

This will be the case even if it seems clear that this isn’t what the person who had died would have wanted. For example, the Probate Office would not consider an unmarried partner or a stepchild to be the most entitled person, even if in reality they were closest to the person who has died. 

What if the intestacy rules really aren’t suitable?

If the rules set out by the government’s intestacy laws really don’t seem appropriate in the particular circumstances of an estate – either in terms of who is set to inherit, or who has the right to administer the estate – generally the only recourse will be to take legal advice about the possibility of making a legal claim. 

Unfortunately, not everyone will have the right to make this sort of legal claim. There are strict rules about the situations where it might be possible to make an inheritance claim, and, even within that, only certain individuals will have the right to do so. You can read more about this process in our complimentary ebook, Inheritance Disputes. 

Even if you are entitled to make a legal claim against an estate, this is certainly not an easy route, and we’d advise that this only be considered in situations where there is no other option.  

How does the rest of the probate process differ without a Will?

If you’re administering an estate without a Will, you will not be able to apply for a Grant of Probate. Instead, you will need to make an application for a Letters of Administration. Once this is granted, it will function in a similar way to a Grant of Probate. 

So, how much easier is it to administer an estate with a Will?

It really is significantly easier to manage the winding up process of an estate with a valid Will in place. Though much of the process is reasonably similar, there is a great deal less uncertainty involved with a valid Will. 

There is also a big difference between administering an estate and distributing assets in a way that you know aligns with the wishes of the person who has died, versus simply having to follow the intestacy laws, even if you know the person who has died would not have been happy with this. 

The good news here is that this means there is a very easy way to make things a great deal more straightforward for your loved ones in the future. You can do this by taking the time now to ensure your wishes are properly recorded in a Will. 

If you’ve made a Will in the past, you might wish to revisit it every five years to ensure it still accurately reflects your wishes and circumstances. 

You might also wish to prompt those around you to either make a Will for the first time, or to ensure that any Will they have written in the past is up to date.  Even a short review can help to ensure that your Will still reflects your wishes and will avoid any unnecessary complications for those you leave behind.

FAQs

Why is it easier to administer an estate when there’s a valid Will in place?

It can be considerably more straightforward to wind up someone’s estate when there is a valid Will in place. This is because wills provide clear instructions on exactly who should take on the responsibility for administering the estate and how they should do this. This can avoid a great deal of uncertainty.

What happens to an estate when someone dies without leaving a Will?

If someone dies without leaving a Will – or if the Will they have left is considered invalid – the estate will be subject to the intestacy laws. The intestacy laws are a prescriptive set of rules from the government which set out exactly who should be responsible for managing the estate and who is legally entitled to inherit. 

Who would inherit your estate based on the intestacy rules?

If your estate was to be distributed according to the intestacy rules, only certain individuals would be able to inherit. This would usually be your spouse or civil partner. If you have no surviving spouse or civil partner, your children would inherit. This might not seem like a problem if you have a straightforward family set up, but it causes significant issues for some people, including those with blended families.

Who is responsible for administering an estate when someone dies without writing a Will?

If someone has died without a valid Will in place, they will not have appointed any executors to take on the responsibility of winding up their estate. Typically, the spouse, civil partner or adult child of the person who has died will need to apply to the Probate Office for permission to do this.