The Intestacy Trap
Dying without a will hands a stranger's rulebook to the people you love most.
When someone dies intestate — without a will — the state applies a rigid set of rules called the laws of intestacy that almost never match the deceased's actual wishes. In the UK, an unmarried partner receives nothing automatically; the entire estate flows to biological children or up the family tree. A child under 18 cannot access funds directly — they are held in a statutory trust, managed by a court-appointed trustee. The process of establishing who owns what and distributing it typically takes 12 to 18 months under a valid will; without one, expect two years or more, with investigative costs averaging around £9,700.
Sam Grice's live example in the episode makes the stakes concrete: a host with a three-year-old son, significant crypto holdings across multiple exchanges, a LISA, stocks and shares ISA, and no joint bank account with his long-term partner. Under intestacy, the partner would have zero legal access to any funds — no rent money, no nursery fees — until the court process completes, which could take two years. The son would receive everything at 18 with no conditions, regardless of the parents' actual intentions.
The trap is compounded by an out-of-date will, which can be worse than no will. A will drafted when children were young and financially dependent may no longer reflect reality, but it still supersedes intestacy. Blended families face additional complexity through 'sideways disinheritance' — dying and leaving everything to a spouse who then remarries and excludes the original children from their estate.
- Without a will, the state decides who gets your estate — and it almost never matches your wishes.
- An out-of-date will can cause more conflict than no will, because it creates legally binding but outdated instructions.
- Unmarried partners have no automatic inheritance rights — cohabitation is not recognised by intestacy law.
- The indirect cost of dying intestate is not a fine — it is the time, complexity, and professional fees that compound on top of grief.
- Review your will every five years and after any major life event: marriage, divorce, new child, new asset, new relationship.
- Establish your relationship-to-law statusDetermine whether you are married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting — these categories produce radically different intestacy outcomes. Unmarried partners receive nothing; married spouses receive £322,000 plus half the remainder first. Know your legal starting point.Pro tipCohabiting for 10 years gives no more intestacy rights than cohabiting for one — the assumption that 'common law marriage' is real in the UK is false.WarningDo not confuse having a mortgage together with having inheritance rights — joint property does not substitute for a will.
- Model the intestacy outcome for your estateTrace who would receive what under the intestacy rules if you died today. Run through: does your partner get anything? At what age do children receive funds? Who becomes trustee by default? Often the gap between this outcome and your actual wishes is stark enough to motivate action.Pro tipThe UK government has an intestacy calculator online — use it to get a concrete picture before dismissing the risk.
- Open a joint bank account as an emergency bridgeA joint bank account is not frozen on death — it remains accessible to the surviving holder. If you are the primary breadwinner and your partner cannot access your estate for up to two years, three months of shared living expenses in a joint account prevents a housing crisis while probate proceeds.Pro tipThis is not a substitute for a will — it is a liquidity buffer that buys time without legal complexity.WarningJoint account funds do form part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes — keep amounts proportionate to short-term needs.
- Write or update your willA simple will can be completed in under 30 minutes online for around £100. Even a basic will that names beneficiaries and an executor is vastly better than intestacy. It can be revised later for specific trust provisions or changing circumstances.Pro tipSomething is always better than nothing — write a simple will now and schedule a review with a solicitor for complex provisions later.WarningA will drafted over five years ago or before a major life event should be treated as potentially out-of-date.
The podcast host has a three-year-old son, significant crypto holdings, a LISA, and stocks and shares ISA — but no will and no joint bank account. Under intestacy, his partner would receive nothing; everything goes into a trust for his son until age 18.
Sam Grice's own parents drafted wills when their children were young and financially dependent. His mother died before updating hers; the wishes she had verbally expressed to her adult children were not legally binding.
Sam describes a client who left fixed cash amounts to several parties and then spent his final years drawing down his estate. When he died, the pecuniary gifts totalled more than the remaining estate.
Sam Grice founded Octopus Legacy after his mother died suddenly at 60 — she had an out-of-date will, and the combination of grief, a fragmented professional services industry, and complex estate administration consumed his family at exactly the wrong moment. His personal experience of the intestacy machinery from the inside drove him to build the company he wished had existed. The 20% figure he cites for people dying without any will at all, and his point that out-of-date wills may affect an even larger proportion, frames the scale of the problem.