Review of the Statutory Legacy

If a person dies without a valid will and is survived by his spouse or civil partner, then the law defines how much of the estate the spouse or civil partner will inherit from the estate. That amount is known as the statutory legacy.

The basic rule is that the spouse or civil partner will receive the first £125,000 of the estate if there are surviving children of the intestate and the first £200,000 if there are not.  If the estate is greater than that, then the remainder is divided between the spouse or civil partner and children, if any, or between the spouse or civil partner and parents or siblings.

The statutory legacy figures were last increased back in 1993. During 2005 the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) consulted on whether there should be increases in these amounts, given inflation of the past decade or so and the significant increases in average house prices in England and Wales.

In January 2007 the Department of Finance and Personssel published a consultation paper and summary document proposing increases in the figures for the statutory legacy.

The outcome of the consultation was a new Statutory rule which wasaffirmed by the Assembly on 10 December 2007. The document "Analysis of Responses to Statutory Legacy" sets out the response to the January 2007 consultation and indicates that following consultation, DFP increased the figures for the statutory legacy in SR 2007 No.452.

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