Having an estate plan (including a will) is important if you want to ensure your property is inherited by the people you choose. But what happens if you don't have a will or other estate planning documents, like a living trust?

If you die without a will in California, your assets will go to your closest relatives under state “intestate succession” laws. Here are some details about how intestate succession works in California.

Which Assets Pass by Intestate Succession

Only assets that pass through probate are affected by intestate succession laws. Many valuable assets don't go through probate and therefore aren't affected by intestate succession laws. Here are some examples:

• property you've transferred to a living trust
• life insurance proceeds with a named beneficiary
• funds in an IRA, 401(k), or other retirement account with a named beneficiary
• securities held in a transfer-on-death account
• real estate for which you have a transfer-on-death deed
• vehicles for which you have a transfer-on-death registration
• payable-on-death bank accounts, or
• property you own with someone else in joint tenancy.

These assets will pass to the surviving co-owner or to the beneficiary you named, whether or not you have a will. However, if you don’t have a will and none of the named beneficiaries are alive to take the property, the property could be transferred under intestate succession.

To learn more about these types of assets, go to the How to Avoid Probate section of Nolo.com or read about Avoiding Probate in California.

Who Gets What in California?

Under intestate succession, who gets what depends on who your closest relatives are when you die. Here’s a quick overview:

(Cal. Prob. Code §§ 6401; 6402 (2026).)

The Spouse’s Share in California

In California, if you're married and you die without a will, what your spouse gets depends in part on how the two of you owned your property—as separate property or community property. Generally, community property is property acquired while you were married, and separate property is property you acquired before marriage. There are a couple of big exceptions: Gifts and inheritances given to one spouse are separate property, even if acquired during marriage.

If you want to learn more about how community property works, read Separate and Community Property During Marriage: Who Owns What?

You also can find California's laws regarding community and separate property here: California Family Code §§ 760 through 772.

Your spouse will inherit your half of the community property. If you have separate property (many spouses mix everything together and don’t have any separate property), your spouse will inherit all or a portion of it. The size of your spouse’s share of your separate property depends on whether or not you have living parents, children, siblings, or nieces or nephews. If you do, they and your spouse will share your separate property. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6401 (2026).)

If you and your spouse are legally separated—but not yet divorced—when you die without a will, your spouse won't be entitled to your property. If you’re concerned about this area of the law, see an experienced attorney for help.

In California, the rules for married people also apply to registered domestic partners.

Children’s Shares in California

If you die without a will in California, your children will receive an “intestate share” of your property. The size of each child’s share depends on how many children you have and whether or not you're married. (See the table above.)

For children to inherit from you under the laws of intestacy, the state of California must consider them your children, legally. For many families, this isn't a confusing issue. But it’s not always clear. Here are some things to keep in mind.

• Adopted children. Children you legally adopted will receive an intestate share, just as your biological children do. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6450 (2026).)
• Foster children and stepchildren. Foster children and stepchildren you never legally adopted won't automatically receive a share. However, a foster child or stepchild can inherit if they can prove that: 1) your relationship with the child began while the child was a minor and continued throughout your lifetimes, and 2) you would have adopted the child if it had been legally possible. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6454 (2026).)
• Children placed for adoption. Children you placed for adoption and who were legally adopted by another family won't receive a share. However, if your biological children were adopted by your spouse, that won’t affect their intestate inheritance. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6451 (2026).)
• Posthumous children. Children conceived by you but not born before your death will receive a share. A child conceived with your genetic material within two years of your death will also receive a share if you left written permission for the material to be used. (Cal. Prob. Code §§ 249.5; 6407 (2026).)
• Children born outside of marriage. If you weren't married or in a registered domestic partnership with your children’s mother when she gave birth to them, they can receive a share of your estate if they can prove that you acknowledged them as your children and contributed to their care and support. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6453 (2026).)
• Children born during your marriage. Any child born to your wife or registered domestic partner during your marriage or partnership is assumed to be your child and will receive a share of your estate. (Cal. Fam. Code § 7540 (2026).)
• Grandchildren. A grandchild will receive a share only if that grandchild's parent (your son or daughter) isn't alive to receive a share. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6402 (2026).)

This can be a tricky area of the law, so if you have questions about your relationship to your parent or child, get help from an experienced attorney.

Will the State Get Your Property?

If you die without a will and don’t have any family, your property will “escheat” into the state’s coffers. (Cal. Prob. Code §§ 6404; 6800 (2026).)

However, this very rarely happens because the laws are designed to get your property to anyone who was even remotely related to you. For example, your property won’t go to the state if you leave a spouse, children, siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles, great uncles or aunts, nieces or nephews, cousins of any degree, or the children, parents, or siblings of a spouse who dies before you do.

Other Important California Intestate Succession Rules

Here are a few other things to know about California intestacy laws.

• Survivorship period. To inherit under California’s intestate succession statutes, a person must outlive you by 120 hours. So, if you and your brother are in a car accident and he dies a few hours after you do, his estate wouldn't receive any of your property. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6403 (2026).)
• Half-relatives. “Half” relatives inherit as if they were “whole.” That is, your sister, with whom you share a father, but not a mother, has the same right to your property as she would if you had both parents in common. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6406 (2026).)
• Posthumous relatives. Relatives conceived before—but born after—you die inherit as if they had been born while you were alive. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6407 (2026).)
• Immigration status. Relatives entitled to an intestate share of your property will inherit whether or not they're citizens or legally in the United States. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6411 (2026).)
• Advancement rule. If you gave a relative a gift during your lifetime, this gift is deducted from the relative's share only if you made a writing at the time saying it’s an advancement or the relative admits this in writing. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6409 (2026).)
• Slayer rule. Someone who “feloniously and intentionally” kills you won't receive a share of your property. (Cal. Prob. Code § 250 (2026).)

Intestate Succession FAQ

Below, we've answered some frequently asked questions about intestate succession in California:

• Does a surviving spouse inherit everything in California?
• What happens to my house if I die without a will?
• Do stepchildren inherit if there's no will?
• Can unmarried partners inherit under intestate succession?

Does a surviving spouse inherit everything in California?

Under California law, your spouse will inherit all of your intestate property only if you have no living parents, descendants, siblings, nieces, or nephews.

See “The Spouse’s Share in California” above for the specific shares your spouse will receive if you have living descendants or parents and information about community property for married couples.

What happens to my house if I die without a will?

How your house is owned will determine how it will pass after your death. If you're the sole owner on the deed, the house will pass according to the intestacy laws.

If you own the house with one or more co-owners, then the house will pass according to the type of ownership. If you own the house as joint tenants with right of survivorship, the house will pass to your co-owners without probate. Tenancy in common is another type of ownership. If you own it as tenants in common, your share of the house will pass to your heirs according to California's intestate succession law. This type of ownership will require probate. (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 683, 686 (2026).)

California also has transfer-on-death (TOD) deeds. A TOD deed names a beneficiary to receive your home when you die without requiring probate. If you have a TOD deed and are the sole owner of your house, then it will pass to the person named in the TOD deed. (Cal. Prob. Code § 5620 (2026).)

Do stepchildren inherit if there's no will?

Unless you adopt your stepchildren or have a living trust or other estate planning tools that name them as beneficiaries, they generally won't inherit directly from you if you have no will. However, stepchildren can inherit if they can prove that: 1) your relationship with them began while they were minors and continued throughout your lifetimes, and 2) you would have adopted them if it had been legally possible. (Cal. Prob. Code § 6454 (2026).)

Can unmarried partners inherit under intestate succession?

As with stepchildren, unless you name a partner in a will, living trust, or other estate planning tools, they won't inherit from you unless you’re married to them or in a registered domestic partnership with them. California's intestate succession laws only provide for spouses, registered domestic partners, and relatives by blood or adoption.

Learn More

To learn more about intestate succession, read How an Estate Is Settled If There’s No Will.

You can find California’s intestate succession laws here: California Probate Code §§ 6400 and following.

For information on how probate works in California, see How to Probate an Estate in California.

For more about estate planning, go to the Wills, Trusts & Probate section of Nolo.com.