Take it one step at a time.
What actually changes when there's no will
Two things, and neither is a crisis. First, the rules of intestacy — a fixed legal order — decide who inherits, rather than anyone's wishes. Second, the person who deals with the estate is called an administrator rather than an executor, and they're identified by the same fixed order rather than being named in a document. Everything else — registering the death, the funeral, telling banks and government — runs exactly as it does with a will.
Who has the right to sort out the estate
The right to apply follows the intestacy order: the surviving spouse or civil partner first, then children (or their children), then parents, then siblings, and so on down the family tree. The applicant must be 18 or over. An unmarried partner is not in that order — however long the relationship — which matters enough that it has its own page. If nobody in the order applies, the estate can eventually pass to the Crown as an unclaimed estate, though that's rare where any family exists.
The paperwork: letters of administration, form PA1A
Where a will's executor applies for a grant of probate, an administrator applies for a grant of letters of administration. The form is PA1A — the version specifically for estates without a will — and the application can be made online or by post. The two grants do the same job: they're the court's confirmation that this person has authority over the estate. Banks and the Land Registry treat them the same way.
The fee, and when there isn't one
The application fee is £526 for estates over £5,000, and there's no fee for estates of £5,000 or less. Extra copies of the grant cost £2 each if you order them with the application — order several; each institution wants to see one — and £16 each if you come back for them after the grant has been issued.
What you can do before the grant arrives
Less than families expect, and that's normal. In practice you can usually register the death, order death certificates, notify banks and government, secure the person's home and belongings, value what the estate holds, and arrange the funeral — many banks will pay a funeral director's invoice directly from the deceased's account on sight of the death certificate. What generally waits for the grant is the real authority: closing and collecting accounts, selling or transferring property, and distributing anything to anyone. Treat this as the general shape of it, not a ruling on your estate — each institution applies its own policy.
If the estate isn't in England or Wales
This page describes England and Wales. Scotland runs intestacy under its own law — the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964, with a different structure of rights for a surviving spouse — and its own court process. Northern Ireland follows a broadly similar priority logic to England and Wales but is a separate system with its own probate office and its own no-will application form, NIPF2. If the person lived in either, start with that jurisdiction's own guidance rather than this page.
A short checklist for this step.
Free to use — nothing to sign up for. Work down it at your own pace.
- Nothing is forfeited — the intestacy rules provide a complete legal answer
- Work out who is highest in the order to act: spouse or civil partner, then children, then parents, then siblings
- Register the death and use Tell Us Once as normal — none of that changes
- Check who inherits with the intestacy checker before assuming
- Apply for letters of administration with form PA1A — £526 over £5,000, free at or under it
- Order extra copies of the grant with the application at £2 each
- Don't distribute anything before the grant — valuing and securing come first
- An unmarried partner has no automatic entitlement — see the dedicated page if that's your situation
Answered, plainly.
Related next steps
If the estate is complex — property in sole ownership, significant assets, a contested will, a business, or assets abroad — these estates benefit from early specialist involvement. Signum carries the reviewed route where a professional is needed.
When you're ready — not before. Executor's First Hour (£179) is prepared for administrators as much as executors: a brief for your specific estate — what applies, which forms in what order, what can run in parallel — delivered within 12 hours. Everything on this page stays free either way.
Executor's First HourInformational, not legal or financial advice. This guide covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland differ. Always confirm current rules and figures at GOV.UK before acting.