What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Sri Lanka
🔑 Key Takeaways: What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Sri Lanka Introduction When someone in Sri Lanka dies without leaving a valid last will (known as dying intestate), their property does not automatically go to their spouse or next of kin in full. Instead, intestate succession in Sri Lanka is governed by statutory rules that determine how the estate is divided among surviving family members. These rules are primarily set out in the Matrimonial Rights and Inheritance Ordinance (No. 15 of 1876, as amended) and related laws, which form part of Sri Lankan inheritance law. In general, the law prioritizes close relatives like spouses, children, and parents, distributing the estate according to kinship. This article explains in detail what happens if you die without a will in Sri Lanka, covering various family scenarios (married with children, married without children, single individuals) and the legal process for administering an intestate estate. We also outline the legal requirements for a valid will in Sri Lanka – including recent changes to witnessing and notarization – to highlight how a proper will can override the default intestate scheme. Intestate Succession in Sri Lanka: An Overview Intestate succession refers to how a deceased person’s assets are distributed when there is no valid will. In Sri Lanka, for non-Muslims (and those not under special personal laws), intestate succession of immovable property is governed by Part III of the Matrimonial Rights and Inheritance Ordinance. This Ordinance, originally enacted in 1877, establishes a fixed order of heirs and shares. It applies as the general law for intestacy, except for communities with their own inheritance laws (such as Muslims under the Muslim Intestate Succession Ordinance and Kandyan Sinhalese or Jaffna Tamils under their respective customs). Under Sri Lankan inheritance law, the guiding principle is that the surviving spouse is entitled to a portion of the estate (a one-half share), and the remaining portion is distributed among other relatives in a prescribed order. The goal of these laws is to ensure the estate passes to the decedent’s family members in a structured way when no will specifies a different plan. Key features of intestate succession in Sri Lanka include: It is important to note that these intestate succession rules under the general law do not apply to everyone uniformly. Muslims in Sri Lanka have a separate intestacy law (the Muslim Intestate Succession Ordinance) which applies Islamic Sharia principles to distribute the estate Similarly, Kandyan Sinhalese and Jaffna Tamil communities have customary laws (Kandyan law and Tesawalamai respectively) that can alter inheritance rights for those who fall under those regimes. For the majority of people, however, especially those married under the general law and not belonging to those special groups, the Matrimonial Rights and Inheritance Ordinance’s scheme will determine inheritance when there is no will. Married Individuals – Intestacy Rules for Spouses, Children, and Parents The situation many people are concerned about is what happens if a married person dies without a will. In Sri Lanka, marriage does not automatically mean the surviving spouse gets everything. The intestate succession law tries to balance the interests of the surviving spouse and the blood relatives (like children or parents of the deceased). Married with Children (Legitimate Descendants) If a married individual dies intestate leaving a surviving spouse and one or more children, the law splits the estate between the spouse and the children. The surviving husband or wife will receive one-half of the estate, outright. The remaining half of the estate is then divided equally among the children of the deceased All children, whether sons or daughters, inherit equal shares under Sri Lankan law (there is no distinction between male or female children in the general law of intestacy). For example, if a man dies without a will, leaving his wife and two children, his widow will inherit 50% of his property, and each of the two children will inherit 25%. If he had four children, the wife gets 50%, and each child gets 12.5%, and so on. This rule ensures that both the surviving spouse and the children receive a portion of the estate. It’s also important to understand the concept of representation: if any child of the deceased had died before the parent (leaving behind grandchildren of the deceased), those grandchildren will collectively take the share their parent would have received. This is called taking per stirpes. For instance, suppose a woman dies intestate, was predeceased by one of her three children, and that deceased child left two children of their own. In this case, the surviving spouse (husband) still gets half the estate, and the remaining half is divided into three parts (since the deceased had three children). Each surviving child gets one part (1/3 of that remaining half), and the two grandchildren (children of the predeceased child) together share their parent’s 1/3 portion – effectively each grandchild would get 1/6 of the remaining half (i.e. 1/12 of the total estate). This way, the branch of the family of a deceased child is not left out, but they don’t get more than their parent would have. Illegitimate children (born out of wedlock) generally do not inherit from their father under the general law intestacy, unless paternity was acknowledged or proven, but they can inherit from their mother’s estate. (This is a complex area and can depend on specific legal actions taken; by default, the Ordinance in Section 33 restricts inheritance by illegitimate kin on the father’s side.) Adopted children, once legally adopted, are treated as equal to biological children for inheritance purposes under Sri Lankan law. In summary, for a married person with children, intestate succession in Sri Lanka ensures the spouse gets half and the children collectively get the other half. This is often a surprise to those who assumed the spouse would inherit everything. If you wish a different distribution (for example, to leave the entire estate to your spouse, or to provide certain children more than others, or to include an illegitimate
