When a person dies without a will, state intestacy law decides who inherits. The property passes to the closest surviving relatives in a fixed order set by statute: usually the spouse and children first, then parents, siblings, and more distant kin if no closer relative exists. A probate court appoints an administrator to collect the assets, pay the debts and taxes, and hand what remains to those legal heirs. What happens when there is no will is therefore not left to guesswork or to what the deceased “would have wanted” — it follows a default inheritance chart written by the legislature of the state where the person lived.
That default often sends property to people the deceased might not have chosen, and it shuts out people the deceased was closest to. The sections below walk through who inherits, who does not, which assets skip the process entirely, and what the administrator has to do before anyone receives a cent.
Who Inherits Under State Intestacy Law
About 19 states have adopted all or part of the Uniform Probate Code, and many others used it as a starting point when drafting their own statutes. The dollar thresholds and fractions vary from state to state, but the ranking of relatives is broadly consistent across the country.
The Surviving Spouse
A surviving spouse almost always receives the largest share. Under the Uniform Probate Code’s framework, the spouse inherits the entire estate if the deceased left no children and no surviving parents, or if every child of the deceased is also a child of the surviving spouse. When the deceased has surviving parents but no children, the spouse typically receives the first $300,000 plus three-fourths of the remainder. When the deceased had children from a different relationship, the spouse’s guaranteed portion shrinks — under the model code, to the first $150,000 plus half of the balance. Most states follow a similar pattern with their own numbers.
Children and Their Descendants
Whatever the spouse does not receive, or the whole estate if there is no spouse, passes to the deceased’s children in equal shares. If a child died before the parent, that child’s own children step into the deceased parent’s place and split the share that would have gone to their parent. This method is called per stirpes, and it keeps each family branch’s portion intact. Some states instead use per capita at each generation, where all living descendants at the nearest generation share equally and leftover shares pool together for the generation below.
Parents, Siblings, and More Distant Relatives
If no spouse and no descendants survive, the estate goes to the deceased’s parents. If neither parent is alive, it passes to siblings, then to nieces and nephews, then outward to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Each tier only inherits if no one in a closer tier survives. States differ on exactly how far out the search extends, but most statutes trace the family tree several generations before giving up.
When No Relative Can Be Found
If the court works through every tier and still finds no eligible heir, the estate escheats to the state. Courts treat this as a last resort and usually invest significant effort in locating relatives first. Most states hold escheated funds for a waiting period in case an heir later comes forward.
Who Is Shut Out
Intestacy statutes recognize only legal family relationships. Several categories of people close to the deceased inherit nothing unless a will, trust, or beneficiary designation covers them.
- Unmarried partners. A boyfriend, girlfriend, or long-term cohabitant who is not a legal spouse has no inheritance rights under intestacy in most states, regardless of how long the couple lived together.
- Stepchildren. A stepchild who was never formally adopted by the deceased stepparent has no claim. Only biological and legally adopted children qualify.
- Close friends and charities. No matter how important they were, friends and organizations inherit nothing through intestacy. Only a will, trust, or beneficiary designation can direct assets to them.
Registered domestic partners are treated like spouses in some states, but not everywhere. If you are in a domestic partnership, your inheritance rights depend entirely on where you live.
How Community Property Changes the Spouse’s Share
Nine states — Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin — plus Alaska by agreement follow community property rules. In these states, the surviving spouse already owns half of all property acquired during the marriage. Only the deceased spouse’s half of that community property enters the intestacy process. Separate property, meaning assets owned before the marriage or received as gifts or inheritance, follows the standard intestacy hierarchy. The practical result is that a surviving spouse in a community property state often ends up with substantially more than a spouse in a common-law state facing the same statute on paper.
Assets That Do Not Pass Through Intestacy
A great deal of what people own never touches the intestacy process. These non-probate transfers happen automatically at the moment of death, controlled by the ownership structure or beneficiary designation rather than state inheritance law.
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. The surviving co-owner automatically takes full ownership.
- Life insurance. Proceeds go directly to the named beneficiary.
- Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs. Funds transfer to the beneficiary on file with the plan administrator.
- Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts. Bank and investment accounts labeled POD or TOD pass to the named recipient.
- Living trusts. Property held in trust is distributed according to the trust document.
These designations override intestacy. If a retirement account still names an ex-spouse as beneficiary, the ex-spouse receives the funds even if the account holder remarried. That is one of the sharpest ways no-will outcomes diverge from what the deceased assumed would happen.
Digital Accounts
Online accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, digital photo libraries, and email archives all count as part of the estate. Nearly all states have adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which gives an appointed administrator the right to manage digital property. Access follows a priority system: first, any instructions left through a platform’s own tool, such as Google’s Inactive Account Manager; second, directions in a will or trust; and third, the platform’s terms-of-service agreement. Without clear instructions, many platforms will release only a catalog of account activity rather than the actual content of messages or files.
Who Actually Runs the Estate
Because there is no will, there is no named executor. Someone — usually a close relative — has to petition the probate court in the county where the deceased lived and ask to be appointed administrator. The document is often called a Petition for Letters of Administration. Filing fees vary by jurisdiction, typically ranging from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand depending on the estate’s value.
Once the clerk accepts the filing, the court notifies all heirs and interested parties and gives them a window to object. If no one challenges the appointment, a judge signs the Letters of Administration, the legal document proving the administrator’s authority to act for the estate. With those letters, the administrator can access bank accounts, deal with creditors, sell property, and take every other step needed to wind the estate up.
The Administrator’s Bond
Courts often require the administrator to post a surety bond before issuing the letters. The bond protects the estate and heirs: if the administrator mishandles funds, the bonding company covers the loss. Bond amounts are typically set at the estimated value of the estate’s personal property or higher. Some states allow the court to waive the bond if all heirs agree or the estate is small enough.
How Long It Takes
A straightforward intestate estate with cooperative heirs, no contested claims, and modest assets might be settled in six to nine months. Larger or more complex estates, especially those involving real estate sales, disputed creditor claims, or fighting among heirs, can take a year or longer. The administrator cannot distribute anything to heirs until creditor deadlines have passed and the required tax returns have been filed.
Debts and Taxes Get Paid Before Heirs Do
One of the administrator’s first jobs is notifying creditors. That usually means publishing a notice in a local newspaper and sending direct written notice to known creditors. Creditors then have a limited window — typically a few months after notice is published, though the exact deadline varies by state — to file a claim. Claims submitted after the deadline are generally barred.
If the estate cannot cover every debt, state law sets a priority order. The exact list differs by state, but the general pattern looks like this:
- Administrative costs, including court fees, attorney fees, and the administrator’s compensation.
- Reasonable funeral and burial expenses, often capped at a set dollar amount.
- Tax debts and claims owed to the federal government.
- Medical expenses from the deceased’s final illness.
- Family allowances. Some states grant the surviving spouse and minor children a temporary living allowance from the estate during administration.
- All other debts, including credit cards and personal loans. If funds run out at this level, creditors share proportionally.
Heirs receive nothing until valid claims higher in the priority order are satisfied. If debts exceed assets, heirs are not personally responsible for the shortfall, but they also inherit nothing. An administrator who hands money to heirs before properly paying creditors can be held personally liable for the mistake.
Tax Returns the Administrator Must File
Death does not end the deceased’s tax obligations. The administrator or surviving spouse must file the deceased’s final Form 1040, covering income from January 1 through the date of death. A court-appointed administrator should attach a copy of the court appointment document. If no administrator has been formally appointed, the person filing must include Form 1310, Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer, to claim any refund owed.1Internal Revenue Service. Filing a Final Federal Tax Return for Someone Who Has Died
The estate itself is treated as a separate taxpayer for income earned after death, such as interest, rental income, and dividends. If the estate generates $600 or more in gross income during a tax year, the administrator must file Form 1041, and must keep filing annually until the estate is fully settled.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041
For 2026, the federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 per person, and only the amount above that threshold is taxed, at a top rate of 40 percent.3Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 Some states impose their own estate or inheritance taxes with much lower exemptions, sometimes as low as $1 million, so an estate well under the federal line can still owe state-level tax.
The administrator owes a fiduciary duty to the estate and can be personally liable for mishandling it, whether by paying themselves excessive fees, distributing property before debts are settled, failing to file returns, or making poor decisions with estate funds.4Internal Revenue Service. Responsibilities of an Estate Administrator
Minor Children When No Guardian Was Named
Dying without a will also means dying without having named a guardian for any minor children. If the other parent is alive and has legal parental rights, that parent typically receives custody automatically. Guardianship disputes arise most often when both parents have died or when the surviving parent is unable or unfit to care for the child.
Judges make guardianship decisions based on the child’s best interests, weighing the child’s existing relationships with potential guardians, the stability of the proposed home, the guardian’s ability to meet the child’s physical and emotional needs, and, when the child is old enough, the child’s own preferences. Extended family members such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles are often preferred, but the court is not required to choose a relative. Without a written preference from the parent, the judge has broad discretion, and the outcome may not match what the parent would have wanted. For many families, that risk is a stronger reason to write a will than any question about who gets the money.