What happens when there is no will?

Rules

If you are not married, you may only inherit from your partner if you are left a bequest in a valid will. However, a spouse is entitled to what is called a "legal right share" of their deceased spouse's estate even if:

• there is no will
• the will is invalid
• there is a valid will, but it leaves little or nothing to the surviving spouse.

The marital status of the deceased person may also indirectly affect the inheritance rights of his/her children.
Spousal inheritance rights

The amount of the surviving spouse's legal right share depends on two factors:

• whether or not there is a valid will
• whether or not the deceased spouse has any children.

You are entitled to the whole estate if:

• there is no will or the will is invalid, and
• the deceased spouse has no children or grandchildren.

You are entitled to two-thirds of the estate if:

• there is no valid will, and
• the deceased spouse has children or grandchildren.

You are entitled to one-half of the estate if:

• there is a valid will, and
• the deceased spouse has no children or grandchildren.

You are entitled to one-third of the estate if:

• there is a valid will, and
• the deceased spouse has children or grandchildren.

If you are the surviving spouse, you must be informed of this right and should apply for your legal right share as soon as possible. You may require that the family home be given to you in satisfaction of your legal right share, even if the home was left to another person under the will.



If the family home is worth more than the legal right share, you will normally have to pay the difference into the deceased's estate. However, in cases of hardship, you may apply to the court to have the dwelling house given to you either without paying the difference or by paying such sum as the court thinks reasonable.

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munchy said:

Hello all. Im new to this sub-forum.

I wonder what happens if an Irish citizen has some cash and property (which has a mortgage - but life insurance to cover it) and there is no will. Who does the inheritance go to? Is it the spouse or the blood family?

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• Spouse (special rules if there are children)
• Children
• Grandchildren (split their parents share, generally if the parent predeceased)
• Parents
• Brothers and sisters (the children of a predeceased brother or sister would split their parents share)
• Next of kin (closest living blood relatives)
• The State

terrysgirl33 said:

ETA: just to add, the rules for distributing an intestate estate are pretty straightforward and I don't think they are very open to challenging.

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mf1 said:

First things first, there is no register of Wills in Ireland

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