What happens if you die without a will — and why the rules vary by state

What intestacy means

When someone passes without a valid will, the law describes them as having died intestate. Each state has its own intestacy statute — a set of rules that decides who inherits and in what order, based entirely on family relationships, not on personal wishes. The court appoints an administrator (rather than an executor) to gather the estate and distribute it according to those rules.

The rules make intuitive sense in the most common cases — a married person with children, for example, typically leaves assets to a surviving spouse and then to children — but they break down quickly in less common situations, and they pay no attention to what the person would actually have wanted.

Who typically inherits — and who does not

Intestacy rules in most states follow a hierarchy of blood and marriage. In very general terms — and keeping in mind that the specifics vary considerably by state and by the exact family situation — the order tends to run roughly as follows:

• A surviving spouse often receives a substantial share, sometimes all of the estate in some states, especially if there are no children.
• Children inherit in equal shares, or in the spouse's absence, all of the estate.
• If there is no spouse or children, parents, siblings, and more distant relatives inherit in a further order.
• The state itself (a process called escheat) inherits only if there are truly no heirs — a rare outcome, but it does happen.

The people intestacy most consistently fails to protect: an unmarried long-term partner, a stepchild who was not legally adopted, a close friend, a favorite charity, a half-sibling in some states. These relationships may not appear in the hierarchy at all.

How it varies by state — and why it matters

The rules differ in ways that can significantly affect families. The share a surviving spouse receives, whether half-siblings inherit equally with full siblings, how the estate is divided when one beneficiary has already passed — all of these vary from state to state. If you own property in more than one state, different rules may apply to different assets.

For the rules in your specific state, see our state-by-state intestacy guides, which cover the general framework in plain English for each jurisdiction. Because laws change, and because your individual situation may have nuances that the general rules do not capture, an estate attorney in your state is always the right resource for advice tailored to your circumstances.

What intestacy cannot fix

Even when intestacy gives the right assets to roughly the right people, several things are lost that only a will or trust can provide.

• Guardianship for minor children. Without a will naming a guardian, the court decides — and may not choose the person you would have.
• Specific bequests. A particular piece of jewelry to one sibling, a painting to a close friend, a sum to a charity — intestacy distributes by formula, not by sentiment.
• Control over who administers the estate. The court appoints the administrator; it may not be the person you would have trusted.
• Trusts for young or vulnerable beneficiaries. A lump sum to an eighteen-year-old, or to someone who struggles with money, is what intestacy delivers.
• Privacy. Estates administered through probate become public record.

Assets that pass outside the estate

Even in an intestate estate, some assets do not follow the intestacy rules. Life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death accounts pass directly to named beneficiaries. Jointly owned property often passes to the surviving owner automatically. These do not wait for probate and are not governed by the will — or by its absence.

The simplest prevention

A will is not a complicated document for most people, and most people do not need a complex one. The act of writing it — naming an executor, naming who receives what, and naming a guardian for any minor children — removes every one of the problems above. Pair it with a letter of instruction and a plan for how the documents will reach the right people, and the work is done.

Legatus Vault exists for the step after the will is written: making sure it can be found, by the right people, at the right time. A document your family cannot locate is, in practice, no document at all.