What Happens If You Die Without a Will? (US, UK, Canada, Australia)

If you die without a will, the law decides who gets your money, home and belongings. These rules are called intestacy rules. "Intestate" just means dying without a valid will. The rules usually favour a husband, wife or civil partner first, then children, then parents, brothers and sisters, and wider family. A court picks someone to sort out your estate. If no relative qualifies, everything can go to the state.

The rules may match what you want. Often, they do not. An unmarried partner usually gets nothing. Stepchildren you did not adopt usually get nothing. A friend or a charity gets nothing. And if your children are young, a court decides who raises them.

The details depend on where you live. Below are the rules for the US, the UK, Canada and Australia, with official sources, and the steps to take if a parent has died without a will. This is general information, not legal advice.

What happened when Prince died without a will?

Prince died suddenly in April 2016, at his Paisley Park home near Minneapolis. He was 57. He had no will, no spouse and no living children (The Guardian, 2 August 2022).

So Minnesota law decided. His estate passed to his six half-siblings. They could not agree on a plan, and they "frequently ended up in court." Three sold their shares to a music company. A bank ran the estate in the meantime.

It took six years. A judge finally signed off on the split in August 2022. By then, the estate was valued at $156 million, a figure agreed with the IRS.

Most of us will never have a music catalogue. But the lesson fits every family. Without a will, people who loved you may spend years in court, guessing what you would have wanted.

Who inherits if there is no will?

Every place has its own order. But most follow a similar pattern:

1. Your husband, wife or civil partner, often sharing with your children.
2. Your children, in equal shares. If a child has died, their children often take their share.
3. Your parents.
4. Your brothers and sisters, or their children.
5. Grandparents, then aunts, uncles and cousins.
6. The state (or the Crown in the UK), if nobody is found.

Three groups are often left out:

• Unmarried partners, however long you lived together;
• Stepchildren you did not legally adopt;
• Friends, carers and charities.

What are the rules in the US?

Each state has its own law. Here are three real examples, from the state laws themselves.

New York. If you leave a spouse and children, your spouse gets $50,000 plus half of the rest. Your children share the other half. With a spouse and no children, the spouse gets everything (NY EPTL 4-1.1).

Florida. Your spouse gets everything if all your children are also your spouse's children, and your spouse has no other children. If either of you has children from another relationship, your spouse gets half (Florida Statutes 732.102).

California. This is a community property state. Your spouse keeps their own half of property you earned together, and gets your half too. For your separate property, your spouse's share depends on your family. It is half if you leave one child. It is one-third if you leave more than one child (California Probate Code 6401).

Notice what these rules do. In Florida, a blended family can split a home between a spouse and stepchildren who do not get along. In California, a spouse can end up co-owning a house with grown children.

Some things pass outside these rules. A life insurance policy or retirement account goes to the beneficiary you named on the form. Property held in joint names "with right of survivorship" goes to the other owner. So check those forms too. An old form can send money to an ex.

What are the rules in the UK?

The UK has three sets of rules.

England and Wales. If you were married or in a civil partnership and have children, your partner gets all your personal belongings, the first £322,000 and half of the rest. Your children share the other half. If the estate is £322,000 or less, the partner gets it all and the children get nothing (Citizens Advice).

Unmarried partners inherit nothing under these rules. Neither do stepchildren who were not adopted. Children under 18 get their share in a trust when they turn 18. GOV.UK has a free tool to check who inherits.

Scotland. Scotland uses "prior rights" and "legal rights" (Scottish Government). A surviving spouse or civil partner first gets "prior rights," according to a 2025 Scottish Parliament briefing. These are your share of the home up to £473,000 and furniture up to £29,000. They also include money up to £50,000, or £89,000 if there are no children. Then the spouse and children have legal rights to part of the money and belongings. Only after that is the rest shared out. An unmarried partner does not inherit automatically (mygov.scot). Some cohabitants can ask a court for a share, but the rights are limited, and they must apply within six months of the death (Scottish Parliament, 2025).

Northern Ireland. If the estate is £250,000 or less, everything goes to the spouse or civil partner (nidirect). Above that, the spouse gets personal items, £250,000 (or £450,000 if there are no children) and a share of the rest. That share is half if there is one child, or one-third if there are more. Unmarried partners do not inherit automatically. Their only choice is a court claim, made within six months of the grant.

What are the rules in Canada and Australia?

Both countries leave this to each province or state.

Canada: British Columbia example. In BC, "spouse" includes someone you lived with in a marriage-like relationship for at least 2 years (BC Wills, Estates and Succession Act). If you leave a spouse and children, your spouse gets the household furnishings and a first share of $300,000. That drops to $150,000 if any of the children are not your spouse's too. The rest is then shared between your spouse and children. Other provinces, including Ontario, set different amounts and different rules for unmarried partners. Check your province's rules.

Australia: New South Wales example. In NSW, your current spouse gets the whole estate, unless you have children from a previous relationship (NSW Government). If you do, your spouse gets your personal effects, a set amount ($587,649 in May 2025, adjusted with inflation) and half of the rest. Your children share the other half. With no spouse, children share equally. If nobody qualifies, the NSW Government receives the estate. Other states use their own amounts.

Who decides who looks after your children?

This is the part that worries parents most, and it has nothing to do with money.

A will is the usual place to name a guardian for children under 18. If you die without one, and no other parent can care for them, a court decides. Family members may each put themselves forward. The judge does their best, but they have never met you.

If you have young children, naming a guardian is reason enough to make a will this month.

What do you do if a parent died without a will?

First, take a breath. You do not need to do everything this week. Here is the usual order.

1. Make sure there really is no will. Search their home, papers and email. Ask their lawyer, bank and accountant. In the UK, a will register search may help. In Northern Ireland, nidirect suggests putting small valuable items away safely in the meantime.
2. Find out who can apply to manage the estate. Usually a spouse, then an adult child. In England and Wales, you apply for a "grant of letters of administration." In NSW, it is "letters of administration" from the Supreme Court. In US states, a court appoints an "administrator" or "personal representative."
3. List what they owned and what they owed. Bank accounts, property, pensions, insurance, cars, debts and bills.
4. Check for shortcuts. Small estates can often skip the full court process. In Northern Ireland, an estate under £10,000 with no land, property or shares may not need a grant. Many US states have a "small estate affidavit." Jointly owned property usually passes straight to the other owner.
5. Pay debts and taxes first. Then share what is left under the rules.
6. Talk as a family. In England and Wales, everyone over 18 who inherits can agree to change who gets what. This is done with a "deed of variation," within 2 years of the death (Citizens Advice).

Get legal advice if the family disagrees, if there is a business or if there is property abroad. nidirect warns that estates without a will can take "months or even years" in complex cases.

Our guides to what to do when someone dies and whether you need probate walk through the next steps.

How do you make sure this does not happen to your family?

The fix is simple, and often cheap.

• Make a will. In the US, compare online will makers, from $0. In the UK, see free wills in the UK. In November, Will Aid solicitors write basic wills for a suggested donation.
• Name a guardian for any children under 18.
• Check your beneficiary forms for life insurance, pensions and retirement accounts.
• Write down where things are. The US National Institute on Aging suggests keeping your key papers in one place and telling someone you trust where they are (NIA).

A will only works if your executor can find it, and can find what it covers. That last step is what most families miss. The Complete Planning Library has an Important Documents and Accounts Organizer for exactly this. It is not a will. It is the record that helps your family carry your will out.

Our free end-of-life readiness check takes a few minutes. It shows which of these papers you still need.

The honest lesson

Dying without a will is not a crime, and it is very common. The law will still look after your closest family, in its own way.

But "its own way" is the problem. It cannot know about the partner you never married, the stepson you raised, the friend who cared for you or the cause you loved.

Death will come to all of us. Getting ready for it is a quiet act of love. An hour with a will maker or a solicitor is enough to put your own wishes on paper.