Delays in Estate Administration
As there is no valid Will, appointing an administrator to deal with the estate may take longer.
This may delay the distribution of assets. It is also more likely that disputes will arise within families over inheritance, complicating matters further.
This often happens when the parents of the minor child of the deceased are no longer together.

Deceased’s Wishes May Not Be Reflected
As mentioned, intestacy rules follow a strict legal hierarchy, which may not necessarily align with the deceased’s wishes.
Unmarried partners, cohabiting partners and long-term partners who are not legally married or in a civil partnership receive nothing under the intestacy rules.
Most parents would view a child inheriting at the age of 18 as too young.

Financial Burden
The surviving families of the deceased may face unexpected financial responsibilities.
If no provisions were made, this can possibly leave dependents of the deceased in a financially vulnerable situation.
Sometimes a property will be in the deceased’s sole name and as a result will have to be sold, as the family cannot afford to keep the property running or adult children beneficiaries may want their share of their inheritance.

Further Problems
If no relatives can inherit under the intestacy rules, the estate passes to the Crown, which eliminates any possibility of the estate passing to friends, unmarried partners, charities, etc.