Intestacy in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has its own intestacy code in the Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955. It broadly resembles the England & Wales model - a surviving spouse takes a statutory legacy off the top, then a share of the residue - but there are two important differences: Northern Ireland uses higher statutory legacy figures, and it varies the spouse's share of the residue according to how many children survive. This page is part of the wider Intestacy - Dying Without a Will overview; contrast Intestacy in England & Wales and the wholly different Scottish scheme in Intestacy in Scotland.

Who inherits - quick reference#

The deceased is survived by	Who inherits
Spouse/civil partner and one child	Spouse/CP: personal chattels + statutory legacy £250,000 + one half of the residue absolutely. The child takes the other half.
Spouse/civil partner and more than one child	Spouse/CP: personal chattels + statutory legacy £250,000 + one third of the residue absolutely. The children share the other two thirds on the statutory trusts.
Spouse/civil partner, no issue, but parents or siblings survive	Spouse/CP: personal chattels + statutory legacy £450,000 + one half of the residue absolutely. The other half goes to the parents (or, if none, the siblings and their issue).
Spouse/civil partner, no issue, no parents or siblings	Spouse/CP takes the whole estate.
Issue, no spouse/CP	The issue take the whole estate equally, on the statutory trusts.
No spouse/CP, no issue	To parents; then brothers and sisters (and their issue); then grandparents; then uncles and aunts (and their issue).
No qualifying relative	To the Crown as bona vacantia.

All the spouse's shares of residue are held absolutely - Northern Ireland does not give the spouse a life interest.

The surviving spouse or civil partner#

What the surviving spouse or civil partner takes depends on whether there is issue and, where there is, on how many children survive.

Where there is issue, the spouse or civil partner takes:

1. The personal chattels;
2. A statutory legacy of £250,000 (with interest to the date of payment); and
3. A share of the residue that depends on the number of children:
   • one half of the residue where one child survives; or
   • one third of the residue where more than one child survives.

The balance of the residue (a half, or two thirds) passes to the issue on the statutory trusts.

This is the sharpest contrast with Intestacy in England & Wales, where the spouse always takes half the residue regardless of the number of children. In Northern Ireland the spouse's residue share drops to one third as soon as there is more than one child.

Where there is no issue but a parent or sibling survives, the spouse or civil partner takes the personal chattels, a higher statutory legacy of £450,000, and one half of the residue absolutely. The other half goes to the surviving parent or parents; if there are no parents, it goes to the brothers and sisters (and the issue of any who have died) on the statutory trusts.

This second-tier legacy is another key divergence from England & Wales, where a spouse with no issue takes the entire estate and parents and siblings receive nothing. In Northern Ireland a childless spouse can still have to share with the deceased's parents or siblings if the estate exceeds £450,000.

Where there is no issue and no parent, brother, or sister, the surviving spouse or civil partner takes the whole estate.

The statutory legacy figures (£250,000 and £450,000) apply to deaths on or after 1 January 2008. They are set by order and reviewed from time to time, so confirm the current figures before relying on them.

The statutory trusts and children#

Where children (or remoter issue) inherit, their shares are held on the statutory trusts: a share vests contingently on the child reaching 18 (or marrying or forming a civil partnership earlier), with the usual trustee powers of maintenance and advancement in the meantime. The issue of a child who has died take that child's share per stirpes. The same principle applies down the later classes.

The order where there is no spouse#

If there is no surviving spouse or civil partner, the estate passes to the first of these classes to produce a taker, that class taking to the exclusion of all later ones:

1. Issue, on the statutory trusts;
2. Parents, equally;
3. Brothers and sisters (and the issue of any who predeceased), on the statutory trusts;
4. Grandparents;
5. Uncles and aunts (and their issue);
6. finally, the Crown, as bona vacantia.

Northern Ireland does not draw the whole-blood / half-blood distinction in the same layered way as England & Wales at every level, but the practical order of relatives is closely comparable.

Cohabitants inherit nothing#

As across the rest of the UK, an unmarried partner takes nothing on a Northern Ireland intestacy, however long the relationship and even where there are children together. A dependant or family member may in some cases apply for provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) (Northern Ireland) Order 1979, but a cohabitant's standing is narrower than in England & Wales, so the position is precarious. The reliable answer is a will (see The Will (Single & Mirror)).

Worked examples#

Example 1 - Spouse and two children. Conor dies intestate, survived by his wife Maeve and their two children. His estate is £600,000, of which £30,000 is personal chattels.

• Maeve takes the personal chattels (£30,000) and the statutory legacy (£250,000).
• The residue is £600,000 − £30,000 − £250,000 = £320,000.
• Because more than one child survives, Maeve takes one third of the residue: £106,667.
• The two children share the remaining two thirds, £213,333, on the statutory trusts: £106,667 each.
• Maeve's total: £386,667.

Example 2 - Same estate, but only one child. On the same figures, but with a single surviving child, Maeve takes half the residue: £160,000, and the child takes the other £160,000. Maeve's total: £440,000. The single change - one child instead of two - moves £53,333 from Maeve to the children's side. In England & Wales her residue share would be half in both cases.

Example 3 - Spouse, no children, parents survive. Niamh dies intestate with no issue, survived by her husband and both her parents. Her estate is £700,000, of which £30,000 is personal chattels.

• Her husband takes the personal chattels (£30,000) and the £450,000 statutory legacy.
• The residue is £700,000 − £30,000 − £450,000 = £220,000.
• He takes half the residue, £110,000; her parents share the other £110,000.
• In England & Wales a childless spouse would have taken the whole £700,000 - the parents would get nothing.

Administration#

An intestate estate in Northern Ireland is administered by an administrator, who applies to the Probate Office for a grant of letters of administration, then gathers the assets, settles debts and tax, and distributes under the statutory order. See Executors, Administrators & the Grant of Probate for appointment and duties, and Administering an Estate, Step by Step for the process.

Making a will instead#

The 1955 Act order is only a default. A will made through The Will (Single & Mirror) lets the testator set their own beneficiaries and shares, provide for a cohabitant, appoint guardians for children, and use trusts for tax and protection - none of which intestacy can do.

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This page is general information about the law of Northern Ireland, not legal advice. The statutory legacy figures are set by order and change over time; confirm the current position before acting.