What is intestacy?

Intestacy is the situation where a person has died without leaving a valid will. Such a person has “died intestate”.

By contrast, if a person has left a valid will, they are said to have died “testate”. In this case, he or she is a “testator”.

The laws of intestacy

The laws of intestacy are a set of rules which state:

Who shall be responsible for the probate process (the personal representatives); and
Who shall receive the estate (the beneficiaries).

The basic order of the probate process is the same regardless of whether someone has died testate or intestate.

However, there are some important differences between dying testate or intestate, as follows.

Testate (will)	Intestate (no will)
The personal representatives are usually appointed by the will	The personal representatives are determined by the laws of intestacy
The personal representatives are called executors (unless no executors are appointed by the will)	The personal representatives are called administrators
The grant of representation required is a grant of probate (unless no executors are appointed by the will)	The grant of representation required is a grant of letters of administration
The executors can deal with some assets and money before the grant	Legally, the administrators can do very little until the grant has been received
The estate will be distributed in accordance with the will	The estate will be distributed in accordance with the laws of intestacy

The words intestacy, testator and testate all come from the latin word for witness. The signing of a will must be witnessed by at least two people.

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