Who inherits without a will in Jamaica?

Jamaica's Intestates' Estates and Property Charges Act shares the estate between the surviving spouse and the children by set fractions. Jamaica also has a separate law giving a spouse a share in the family home.

A spouse with no children generally takes the whole estate or a large share, with the parents or the siblings sharing in some countries.

Children first, then the parents, then the brothers and sisters, then more distant relatives, and finally the state.

A partner who is not in a recognised marriage generally has no automatic right to inherit, though several countries recognise long-term cohabiting partners for some purposes, and courts can order provision for dependants.

Common-law countries have no forced share, but a spouse, child or dependant who is left without support can usually ask the court for provision from the estate.

The law of the place where land lies usually governs the land, and the law of the person's last home usually governs the rest. An estate with a foreign element needs advice in the country.

• In many island countries, especially in the Pacific, family land is held under customary tenure and passes by custom rather than by the statute.

Jamaica belongs to the Common law family. Succession law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.

Read the Jamaica legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Jamaica? →

• JuriGlobe, University of Ottawa: world legal systems
• World Bank: Women, Business and the Law (country data on inheritance rights)