If a person dies and it is believed that they have left a Will but it has not been found, there are a number of steps to take:
 
• Search the belongings of the person who has died for any evidence that they made a will (for example, a letter from a solicitor)

• Call or write to solicitors and banks that the person might have used

• Apply to the Principal Probate Registry to see if the person who died left their Will there; and

• Place advertisements in newspapers and legal journals.

If no Will is recovered, the estate will be shared out under the rules of intestacy.
In this case, there is an order in which an executor is chosen as the closest living relative:
1. The husband, wife or registered civil partner of the person who has died.
2. Their children or their children’s descendants (for example, grandchildren, if they are over 18).
3. The deceased’s parents.
4. The deceased’s siblings with the same mother and father, or the descendants of the siblings.
5. Their half-brothers or half-sisters or their descendants.
6. Their grandparents
7. Their uncles and aunts.
8. The Crown (the state) if there are no relatives.

Problems may arise where there is more than one relative legally entitled to administer the Will.  In this case they must apply to the Probate Court, which will decide on responsibilities.  This is a complicated procedure and is best undertaken with the advice of a solicitor or Probate Specialist.

Legal disputes like these take time and money, which will be taken out of the estate.  However, if the court disagrees with this payment method, you may be left with a large legal bill.

Whether a Will has been made or not, all debts must be repaid before an estate is divided.  After this point the Administration of Estates Act 1925 sets out who gets what in every situation where there is no will.

Some of the more common situations are as follows.

There is a spouse or civil partner but no other relatives:

The spouse or civil partner receives everything – however, any unmarried or unregistered partners receive nothing.

There is a spouse and children:
In this case, the spouse receives:
• The personal chattels – such as jewellery, pictures, books, furniture and cars.
• The first £125,000.
• A life interest in half of what is left. The remaining capital is left to their children when the surviving spouse or partner dies.

The children share between them:
• Half what is left immediately (as long as they are over 18).
• The other half when the surviving parent dies.
Unless step-children are named specifically in the Will they receive nothing.  In the event of one child having died before a parent, and they had children themselves, their share passes to those children (the grandchildren of the Will’s owner).

There is a spouse and relatives (but no children)
The spouse receives:
• The personal chattels – such as jewellery, pictures, books, furniture and cars.
• The first £200,000.
• Half of what is left.
The parents of the deceased, or if they are also deceased, the brothers and sisters or their children will share the other half of what is left.

There are children, but no living spouse
Everything is shared equally between the children. If one of the children has already died and had children of their own, those children will share what their parent would have inherited. If the children are under 18 years old, a trustee will look after their share until they reach 18.

There is no spouse or children
All possessions and belongings will pass to the next living group of relatives in the following order:
1. The parents of the deceased
2. The full brothers or sisters of the deceased – ie not step or half-siblings
3. Half-brothers or half-sisters
4. Grandparents
5. Uncles and aunt’s ‘of the whole blood’ (this means brothers and sisters of the parents of the dead person, as long as they had the same mother and father themselves);
6. Uncles and aunts – siblings of the parents of the deceased
7. The Crown (the state).