What Happens If You Die Without a Will?

If you die without a will, your state already has a plan for your things. It's a default list of who inherits, based only on family ties, and you don't get to change it.

That list might suit you fine. But it leaves out people many of us care about most: a partner you're not married to, a stepchild you raised, a close friend or a favorite charity.

1. What "intestate" means

Dying without a valid will is called dying intestate. Each state has intestacy laws: its default list of who inherits. The people on that list are your heirs. New York courts call them distributees.

The state takes your property only if no relative on its list is alive, which is rare. In New York, the list reaches all the way out to your first cousins' children.

2. What the state's list covers, and what it doesn't

The state's list only covers things in your name alone with no one named to get them. That usually means a bank account with no beneficiary, a car, or a home in your name alone.

Many things skip the list completely:

Accounts with a named beneficiary. A 401(k), IRA or life insurance policy goes to the person on its form. The beneficiary is the person you name to get it.
Payable-on-death (POD) accounts. A bank account marked POD goes to the person you named on it.
Joint property with survivorship. "Survivorship" means the surviving owner automatically gets the whole thing.
Property in a trust. A trust follows its own written rules.

So even without a will, a lot of your money may already have a set path.

3. Who inherits in New York

If you live in New York, the order is set by the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law, section 4-1.1. Two terms first. Your descendants are your children, grandchildren and so on down the line. The rest of the estate means what's left after the spouse's first $50,000.

Who you leave behind	Who gets your property
Spouse and descendants	Spouse gets $50,000 plus half the rest. Descendants split the other half.
Spouse, no descendants	Spouse gets everything.
Descendants, no spouse	Descendants get everything.
No spouse or descendants	Your parents.
No spouse, descendants or parents	Your brothers and sisters, and the children of any who died.
None of the above	Your grandparents, or their children and grandchildren (your aunts, uncles and first cousins): half to your mother's side, half to your father's.

All shares are worked out after paying the person's debts, court and lawyer costs, and the funeral.

If one of your children died before you, that child's kids split their parent's share. Lawyers call this inheriting by representation.

A few family rules in New York:

Adopted children count the same as birth children.
Half-siblings count the same as full siblings.
Stepchildren get nothing unless you adopted them.
An unmarried partner gets nothing, no matter how long you were together.

Other states use their own lists. Many follow a similar order, but the dollar amounts and splits differ. Check your state court's website for the rules where you live.

4. Kevin's example: married with two kids

Kevin dies in Schenectady without a will. He's married to Tara and has two kids, Mia (12) and Leo (9). After his debts, funeral and court costs, $250,000 is left in his name alone.

Tara gets the first $50,000.
That leaves $200,000. Tara gets half: $100,000.
Mia and Leo split the other $100,000: $50,000 each.

Tara's total is $150,000. The kids' shares cause a second problem: children under 18 can't control money themselves. So a court may need to appoint a guardian of the property, an adult who manages each child's $50,000 and reports to the court about it. Each child then gets their money at 18, whether they're ready or not.

With a will, Kevin could have left everything to Tara. Or he could have left the kids' money in a trust until an older age.

This example leaves out one more New York rule. A surviving spouse also gets a family exemption before the split. It covers up to $25,000 in money, one car worth up to $25,000, and up to $20,000 in household items. So if Kevin's estate had cash, Tara could take up to $25,000 of it off the top first.

5. Jess and Ray: the unmarried couple

Jess and Ray lived together for 15 years in a house in Ray's name alone. When Ray dies without a will, New York law gives Jess nothing. The house goes to Ray's kids, or to his parents if he has no kids.

Jess could even have to move out. A will leaving the house to Jess would have changed that, and so would a New York transfer-on-death deed naming her. That deed lets a home pass to a named person without going through the court. It must be signed before two witnesses and a notary, and recorded with the county clerk while the owner is alive.

6. Who gets put in charge

With a will, you name an executor to settle your affairs. Without one, the court appoints an administrator to do the same job. In New York, that happens at the Surrogate's Court, the county court that handles estates.

The court gives the administrator a paper called letters of administration, which proves they're in charge. Banks won't release money without it, and being next of kin doesn't open the bank's doors on its own.

In New York, the court picks the administrator in this order:

The surviving spouse
Children
Grandchildren
A parent
Brothers and sisters
Other heirs, starting with whoever gets the biggest share

The court can also appoint someone else if all the heirs agree in writing. An administrator may also need a bond, a kind of insurance that protects the heirs if money goes missing. The estate pays for it. With a will, you can excuse your executor from needing one.

7. The New York small-estate shortcut

Not every estate needs a full court case. In New York, a relative can use a simpler process called voluntary administration if two things are true:

The person left $50,000 or less in personal property in their name alone. Personal property means money, cars and belongings, not land.
The person owned no house or land in their name alone.

The filing fee is $1. Joint accounts and accounts with a named beneficiary don't count toward the $50,000.

8. When kids are involved

Dying without a will is hardest on parents of young children. There are two problems.

Who raises your kids. A will lets you name a guardian for your children. A judge makes the final call, but your choice counts for a lot. If both parents die without naming anyone, a judge picks, and it might not be the person you'd choose.

Who handles their money. Without a will, money left to a child under 18 may need a court-supervised guardian, as in Kevin's example. With a will, you can set up a trust and pick the age when your child gets the money.

9. How to replace the state's plan with your own

Write down what you own and how each item is titled.
Check every beneficiary form on your 401(k), IRA, life insurance and bank accounts.
Compare the New York table above (or your state's rules) with what you actually want.
Make a will. A simple will usually costs less than the problems it prevents. Name an executor and a backup, and a guardian if you have kids.
Ask an estate lawyer about a trust if you have young kids, a blended family or a child with special needs.

Common mistakes

Assuming your spouse gets everything. In New York, that's only true if you have no descendants, or if what's left is $50,000 or less.
Assuming a long-term partner is covered. Without marriage or a will, they're not.
Forgetting stepchildren. They inherit nothing by law unless you adopted them.
Leaving minor kids as heirs without a plan. The money may end up under court control until age 18.
Thinking the next of kin can just take over. No one can act without court papers.

Frequently asked questions

Does the state take everything if I have no will?

No. The state only takes your property if no relative on its list is alive. In New York, that list reaches out to your first cousins' children.

Does intestacy apply to my retirement account?

No, as long as a living person is named on the beneficiary form. Your 401(k) or IRA goes to that person. If no one is named, it usually goes to your estate and then follows the state's list.

Can families agree to split things differently?

Sometimes, yes. Heirs can agree to a different split, but bills come first. A child under 18 can't sign away a share. Get any agreement in writing with a lawyer so no one gets surprised later.

Do I need a will if I'm young and don't own much?

If you have kids, yes, because a will is how you name their guardian. If you don't, your beneficiary forms may cover most of what you own. A will still lets you name who's in charge and who gets the rest.

Is a will made online valid in New York?

It can be. New York requires your signature at the end, two witnesses who watch you sign, and you telling them it's your will. A form that skips any step can fail.

The bottom line

Without a will, your state decides who gets your things and who's in charge. In New York that means family only, in a fixed order, with no room for partners or stepchildren. A simple will, plus up-to-date beneficiary forms, lets you swap the state's plan for your own.

Official sources and further reading

Convivial Wealth education guide · General education for U.S. readers, not personalized legal or tax advice. Figures are for 2026 and are reviewed each year.

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