Parent Died No Will

Your parent just died and there's no will. Now what? The estate doesn't disappear or go to the government — state intestacy laws dictate exactly who gets what. But you'll need a court-appointed administrator to make it happen, and the process has some traps that catch families off guard.

Intestacy Laws Decide Who Inherits

Every state has a default inheritance hierarchy for people who die without a will. These rules are called intestacy laws, and they follow bloodline and marriage status in a predictable order.

If your parent was unmarried or single: Their children inherit everything, divided equally among siblings. If one child predeceased the parent but had children of their own, those grandchildren typically inherit that child's share.

If your parent was married and all children are also the spouse's children: The surviving spouse inherits everything in most states. Some states split it — for example, the spouse might get the first $100,000 plus half the remainder.

If your parent was married with children from a previous relationship: This is where intestacy gets complicated. Many states give the surviving spouse only half (or in some cases three-fifths) of the estate, with the deceased parent's biological children inheriting the rest. This split frequently triggers disputes, especially when a step-parent and biological children disagree about who should control the family home or vehicles.

The critical thing to understand: intestacy laws don't care about promises, verbal agreements, or who "deserves" what. They're mechanical. If your parent wanted a different distribution, the time for that was a will — and without one, the statute controls.

Someone Needs to Be Appointed Administrator

Without a will, there's no named executor. Instead, someone must petition the local probate court for "Letters of Administration," which grants legal authority to manage the estate.

State law sets who has priority to apply. Commonly, the order starts with:

1. Surviving spouse
2. Adult children
3. Parents of the deceased
4. Siblings
5. Other next of kin

If you're an adult child and the surviving spouse either doesn't exist or declines to serve, you can petition the court yourself. The filing fee is typically $200 to $500 depending on the state, and you may need to post a surety bond (the court's insurance that you'll handle estate assets properly).

The administrator has the same duties as an executor — inventorying assets, notifying creditors, paying valid debts, and distributing what's left to the legal heirs.

The Small Estate Shortcut

Many estates don't need formal probate at all. If the value of eligible probate assets falls below your state's small estate threshold, you may be able to use a small estate affidavit or another simplified process instead.

This is a sworn document that may let you collect bank account funds, transfer vehicle titles, or handle other assets through a simplified process. Some procedures still require a court filing or judicial approval. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, California's simplified affidavit procedure covers eligible property when its gross value does not exceed $208,850. New York's voluntary-administration procedure is limited to personal property in estates valued at $50,000 or less.

The catch: where real estate is included, thresholds often use gross value, not net. A house with $150,000 in equity and a $200,000 mortgage may count at its full market value, not the equity amount. Texas's small-estate affidavit is for intestate estates; its $75,000 cap excludes the homestead and exempt property, and a court must approve the affidavit after at least 30 days. New York's voluntary-administration procedure excludes real estate.

Assets That Skip Intestacy Entirely

Some assets pass directly to named beneficiaries regardless of whether a will exists:

• Joint bank accounts with right of survivorship transfer to the surviving owner automatically
• Life insurance policies pay the named beneficiary, not the estate
• Retirement accounts (401k, IRA) go to the designated beneficiary
• Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) designations on investment and bank accounts bypass probate
• Real estate held in joint tenancy passes to the surviving owner

If your parent set up beneficiary designations on their major accounts, those assets are already spoken for. The intestacy rules only apply to assets that don't have a designated recipient.

Blended Family Complications

When a parent in a blended family dies without a will, the potential for conflict is high. The surviving step-parent and the deceased parent's biological children may have competing interests in the same property.

The legal reality in most states: the step-parent gets their intestacy share (typically 50% to 100% depending on the state), and the biological children split the remainder. Step-children who were never legally adopted have no inheritance rights under intestacy in any state.

If a step-parent or other relative is removing property from the home before the court appoints an administrator, you have the right to secure the property. No one can legally distribute estate assets before an administrator is appointed — doing so is a breach of fiduciary duty.

Securing the home by changing locks and gathering portable valuables (laptops, jewelry, documents) is a legitimate protective step. If challenged, a firm response: "Probate law requires all estate assets to be preserved until an administrator is formally appointed. Nothing can be distributed until we complete an inventory."

Tax Filing Still Happens

Someone needs to file your parent's final personal income tax return for the year they died. This covers January 1 through the date of death. A domestic estate must file IRS Form 1041 if its gross income is at least $600 for a tax year or it has a nonresident alien beneficiary.

In Canada, the deemed disposition rule treats capital property as sold at fair market value immediately before death, triggering capital gains on the final return. This applies whether or not there's a will.

The Young Adult's Guide to Losing a Parent includes an intestacy quick-reference, a document locator checklist, and templates for securing assets and communicating with creditors — designed for someone navigating estate administration without a will and without prior experience.