Succession Law in the United Kingdom
By: Veronika Virkenborg
Introduction
Succession, also so called inheritance.
In Civil Law called the Law of Succession
In Anglo-American Common Law there is a distinction between descent of real estate and distribution of personal estate.
Intestacy
The condition of the estate of a person who dies owning property without having made a valid will or another binding declaration.
May also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to a part of the estate.
Historical background
Common law clearly distinguished between real property and chattels.
Real property without will disposition were passed by the law of kinship and descent.
Chattel property without will disposition were passed to the crown or given to the Church for charitable
purposes.
Current law
In most common law jurisdictions, the law of succession is patterned after the common law of descent.
Property goes to, in the following order:
1. Spouse 2. Children
3. Children's descendants 4. Parents
5. Siblings
6. Sibling’s descendants
Current law
Today, if the person that died does not have any
identifiable heirs, the persons estate is generally legally assigned to the Crown.
Current law
In the United Kingdom the intestacy rules have been uniform since 1925.
Similar rules apply in many commonwealth countries and crown dependencies, such as e.g. Ireland.
The rules have been supplemented by the discretionary provisions of the of the Inheritance Act of 1975, The Provisions for Family and Dependants.
In order to provide fair provisions for dependent spouses or other relatives.
Division of property
If no children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren then the spouse or civil partner inherits all personal belongings, the entire estate since October 2014,
earlier the first £450,000 of the estate and the half of the amount above £450,000.
If there are children, grandchildren or great-
grandchildren then the spouse or civil partner inherits all personal belongings, the first £250,000 of the estate and then half of the remainder since October 2014,
earlier a lifetime interest in half of the amount above
£250,000.
Division of larger estates
The spouse will not receive the entire estate when it come to larger estates, if the decreased left other blood relatives but no will.
The spouse will in that case receive the following:
1. All property passing to them by survivorship.
2. All property passing under the terms of trust.
3. A statutory legacy of a fixed sum.
4. A life interest in half of the remaining estate.
The children or more distant relatives if there are no children, will be entitled to half of the estate remaining immediately and the remaining half on the death of the surviving spouse.
Inheritance taxes
In the United Kingdom there is an inheritance tax which is a transfer tax.
Introduced with effect from 18 March 1986, replacing the Capital Transfer Tax.
Paid if a persons estate is worth more than £325,000 when they die, that is the inheritance tax threshold.
The rate is 40% on anything above the threshold.
May be reduced to 36% if more than 10% of the estate is left to charity.
Forced heirship
Where a person dies without leaving a will, rules of succession of the persons place of residence apply.
Principality where the property is located to have jurisdiction regardless of the descents residence.
Not found in common law jurisdiction.
Since rules of succession without a will play a back up role in the common law where an individual has not
exercised his/her right to dispose of property in a will.
Sources
https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/if-the-pe rson-didnt-leave-a-will
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/288190/i nheritance
https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/overview
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29436533
