What happens if you die without a will: How intestacy laws vary by state

When someone dies without a valid will, a probate court generally appoints an administrator to settle the estate, and property the person owned outright passes to relatives in an order set by state law.

These statutes, known as intestacy or intestate succession laws, put a surviving spouse and children first, followed by parents, siblings and more distant relatives. If no qualifying relative survives, the property goes to the government.

Under New York law, a surviving spouse who shares the estate with children takes $50,000 plus half of what remains. In Florida, the same spouse takes the entire estate as long as every child of the decedent is also the spouse's child and the spouse has no children from another relationship.

In Illinois, a spouse with children takes half.

What does it mean to die intestate?

A person who dies without a valid will dies intestate. Property a will would have controlled passes instead under the intestacy statute of the state where the person lived.

Real estate is the exception: Land and buildings pass under the law of the state where they are located, which can require a second, ancillary probate case in that state, according to Nolo.

Every state writes its own statute. The Uniform Law Commission drafted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) in 1969 as model legislation for the states and last amended it in 2019. Montana's code is organized under the UPC and uses the model's dollar figures for a surviving spouse's share, under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-112.

New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois use formulas of their own.

Which property do intestacy laws control?

Intestacy statutes reach only property that passes through probate. Joint bank accounts, certain jointly owned property, life insurance proceeds, retirement accounts with named beneficiaries and real estate or vehicles with a transfer-on-death deed or registration pass directly to a surviving co-owner or beneficiary, according to the California Attorney General's office.

A physician's 401(k) or 403(b) with a current beneficiary designation goes to that beneficiary with or without a will.

The intestacy statute governs what's left: a house or brokerage account titled in the physician's name alone, personal belongings and, for practice owners, an ownership stake in the practice.

Who inherits under intestacy laws?

New York's Estates, Powers and Trusts Law § 4-1.1 sets the order this way:

• A spouse and descendants: $50,000 plus half of the rest to the spouse, with the balance to the descendants.
• A spouse and no descendants: everything to the spouse.
• Descendants and no spouse: everything to the descendants.
• No spouse or descendants: everything to the parents.
• No spouse, descendants or parents: everything to the decedent's brothers and sisters and their descendants.
• Beyond that, grandparents and their descendants, split between the mother's and father's sides, out to first cousins and their children.

Pennsylvania uses a similar order for relatives other than a spouse: descendants, then parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants, then grandparents, then aunts, uncles and their descendants, under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103. Illinois combines two of those steps.

When there is no spouse or descendant, parents and siblings share the estate equally, and a surviving parent takes a double portion if the other parent has died, under 755 ILCS 5/2-1(d).

An heir also has to outlive the decedent by a minimum period.

Under Montana's version of the UPC, an heir who doesn't survive the decedent by 120 hours is treated as having died first, under Mont. Code Ann. § 72-2-114. Pennsylvania's period is five days, under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2104.

How much does a surviving spouse inherit?

Montana's UPC-based statute gives the surviving spouse the entire estate when the decedent leaves no descendants or parents, or when all of the decedent's descendants are also the spouse's and the spouse has no other descendants. In other family situations, the spouse takes:

• The first $300,000 plus three-fourths of the rest when a parent survives but no descendant does.
• The first $225,000 plus half of the rest when the decedent's descendants are all the spouse's but the spouse also has children from another relationship.
• The first $150,000 plus half of the rest when at least one of the decedent's descendants is not the spouse's.

New York and Pennsylvania use the same dollar-plus-fraction structure with smaller dollar amounts. A New York spouse takes $50,000 plus half when descendants survive and the entire estate when none do, even if the decedent's parents are alive.

A Pennsylvania spouse takes $30,000 plus half when the children are all the spouse's or when a parent survives and there are no children, and half when any child is from another relationship, under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2102.

Illinois uses no dollar amount. The spouse takes half when descendants survive and everything when none do.

Virginia gives the spouse everything unless the decedent has children who are not the spouse's, in which case the spouse takes one-third and the children take two-thirds. Florida gives the spouse everything when the children are shared and the spouse has no other children, and half otherwise.

A physician who dies with $1 million in solely owned property, a spouse and two children they share would leave the spouse the full $1 million under the Montana statute and in Florida or Virginia.

The spouse would receive $525,000 in New York, $515,000 in Pennsylvania and $500,000 in Illinois, with the children splitting the rest. In California, if the $1 million were all separate property, the spouse would receive one-third.

How do community property states handle intestacy?

The IRS lists nine community property states in Publication 555: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

Property either spouse acquires during the marriage while living in one of those states is generally community property. Property owned before the marriage or received as a gift or inheritance is generally separate property, according to the publication.

A surviving spouse in California already owns half of the couple's community property and inherits the decedent's half as well, under Cal. Prob. Code § 6401. Separate property is divided.

The spouse takes all of it if the decedent leaves no children, parents, siblings or siblings' descendants; half if there is one child, or no children but a parent, sibling or sibling's descendant; and one-third if two or more children or their descendants survive. Registered domestic partners in California have the same rights as spouses, including after a partner's death, under Family Code § 297.5.

In Texas, the surviving spouse takes the decedent's half of the community estate when the decedent leaves no children or when all of the decedent's children and descendants are also the spouse's, under Tex. Est. Code § 201.003.

If any child is from another relationship, the decedent's half goes to the decedent's children and the spouse keeps only their own half. Texas separate property follows a different formula when children survive. The spouse takes one-third of the personal property and a life estate, meaning the right to use it for life, in one-third of the land, and the children take the rest, under § 201.002.

What happens to blended families, stepchildren and unmarried partners?

When the decedent has a child from another relationship, the spouse's share drops to $150,000 plus half under the Montana statute, to half in Florida and Pennsylvania and to one-third in Virginia.

In Texas, the decedent's half of the community estate goes to the decedent's children instead of the spouse. New York and Illinois give the spouse the same share either way.

A stepchild who was never adopted does not appear among the heirs in the New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois or Montana statutes.

California makes a narrow exception under Prob. Code § 6454: A stepchild can inherit if the relationship began while the child was a minor, continued for both of their lifetimes, and clear and convincing evidence shows the stepparent would have adopted the child but for a legal barrier.

An unmarried partner does not appear in any of those heir lists either. California's registered domestic partners, who have spousal rights under state law, are the exception.

Who settles the estate when there is no will?

With no executor named in a will, a court appoints an administrator from a priority list. California's list, in Prob. Code § 8461, starts with the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, grandchildren, other descendants, parents and siblings.

The public administrator and, last, creditors sit at the bottom. In New York, the Surrogate's Court issues letters of administration to a qualified heir, according to the New York State Unified Court System. The administrator "could be a family member or a public official," according to the New York State Bar Association.

California lets heirs collect a decedent's personal property by affidavit, without a probate case, when the gross value of the decedent's California property, excluding certain assets, is $208,850 or less for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, according to the Judicial Council of California form that publishes the limit. The next adjustment is scheduled for April 1, 2028.

Who raises minor children?

When both parents have died, a court appoints a family member or other interested person as guardian to make decisions for the child, according to the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento.

California lets a parent nominate a guardian under Prob. Code § 1500, and the nomination can be made in a signed writing before any court case begins, under § 1502. Without one, the court chooses.

A child's inheritance can require a second court appointment. Some financial institutions, insurance companies and courts won't release money to a minor until a guardian of the estate is appointed, according to the Judicial Council of California.

That guardian manages the property under court supervision, posts any bond the court orders and files accountings starting one year after appointment. The guardianship ends when the child turns 18, and the guardian then hands over the property.

What happens to debts, including medical school loans?

A deceased person's debts are owed by and paid from the estate, and family members usually don't have to pay them from their own money, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Heirs inherit what remains.

Federal student loans are discharged when the borrower dies, once a death certificate or approved electronic verification is provided, under 34 CFR § 685.212(a).

The same rule covers a parent's Direct PLUS loan when the student dies. The loans "won't transfer to another person," according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Private student lenders are not legally required to cancel a loan when the borrower dies, and in some cases the debt can pass to a spouse or cosigner, the CFPB says.

What happens to a physician's ownership in a practice?

In California, shares in a professional corporation can be transferred only to licensed professionals, the corporation itself or its other shareholders, under Corp. Code § 13407.

If the corporation doesn't acquire a deceased physician-shareholder's shares within six months of the death, the state agency that regulates the profession can suspend or revoke the corporation's registration. An heir who isn't licensed can receive the value of the shares through the estate but can't hold the shares. Ownership rules and deadlines for professional entities differ by state and entity type.

What happens if there are no relatives?

Illinois sends real estate to the county where it's located and other property to the county of residence or the state, under 755 ILCS 5/2-1(h).

Pennsylvania first looks for an endowed community fund in the decedent's municipality, school district or county before the property goes to the commonwealth, under 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103. Montana sets aside its 120-hour survival rule when applying it would send the estate to the state.

Where can physicians find their state's intestacy rules?

Each state publishes its intestacy statute on its legislature's website, and the citations in this article link to the sections for the states covered here.

State court systems publish plain-language guides to settling an estate without a will, including the New York State Unified Court System, and the California Attorney General's office has an overview of wills, trusts and probate. State and local bar associations, including the New York State Bar Association, run lawyer referral services for estate questions.

Frequently asked questions

Does a spouse automatically inherit everything if there is no will?

Not in every state or family situation. A spouse with no children to share with takes the entire estate in New York, Illinois, Florida and Virginia. With children, a New York spouse takes $50,000 plus half, a Pennsylvania spouse takes $30,000 plus half and an Illinois spouse takes half.

Does an unmarried partner inherit without a will?

No, under the state statutes reviewed here. Their lists of heirs include spouses and relatives but not unmarried partners. California is an exception for registered domestic partners, who have the same rights as spouses under state law.

Do stepchildren inherit if there is no will?

Not unless they were legally adopted, in most of the statutes reviewed here. California allows a stepchild to inherit if the relationship began in childhood, lasted for both lifetimes and clear and convincing evidence shows the stepparent would have adopted the child but for a legal barrier.

What happens to life insurance and retirement accounts if there is no will?

They pass outside intestacy. Life insurance proceeds and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries go directly to those beneficiaries, and jointly owned accounts generally pass to the surviving co-owner. Intestacy laws govern property that passes through probate.

Who becomes the guardian of minor children if there is no will?

A probate court appoints a guardian when both parents have died. California lets a parent nominate a guardian in a signed writing. Without a nomination, the court chooses. A child's inheritance may also need a court-appointed guardian of the estate until the child turns 18.

What happens to a physician's student loans after death?

Federal student loans are discharged once the servicer receives a death certificate or approved verification, and they don't pass to relatives. Private student lenders aren't legally required to cancel loans at death, and some private debt can pass to a cosigner or spouse.

What happens to an estate if there are no living relatives?

The property goes to the government, a process called escheat. Illinois sends it to the county or state. Pennsylvania first looks for an endowed community fund in the decedent's municipality, school district or county before the property goes to the commonwealth.

Which state's law applies if I own property in more than one state?

The intestacy law of the state where you lived generally governs your property, but real estate passes under the law of the state where it's located. That can require a separate ancillary probate case in each state where you own real estate.