Unclaimed Estates

If someone dies without leaving a will they are regarded as having died intestate. The following family members are entitled to make a claim to the estate in the order below:

• husband, wife or civil partner
• children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on
• mother or father
• brothers or sisters who share both the same mother and father, or their children (nieces and nephews)
• half brothers or sisters or their children (nieces and nephews of the half blood or their children).
• grandparents
• uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins or their descendants)
• half uncles and aunts or their children (first cousins of the half blood or their children).

If you are a first cousin of the deceased, you would only be entitled to share in the estate if there are no relatives above you in the order of entitlement, i.e. a niece or a nephew.

There is a useful tool on the official government website that leads you through the order of inheritance. Click here to check your entitlement.