Family & Estate · Intestate Succession
Intestate Succession in California
Who inherits, and how much, when a person dies without a will in California, broken down by family situation, cited to the statute.
Who inherits in California, by scenario
The share for the surviving spouse and everyone else, for each common family situation.
In California, most property a couple earns during marriage is community property, and the surviving spouse already owns half of it. When there is no will, the decedent’s half of the community property also passes to the surviving spouse, so the spouse ends up with all of it. Only separate property, generally what someone owned before marriage or received by gift or inheritance, is divided with children or parents.
| Who survives | Surviving spouse gets | Everyone else gets |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse and one child | All community property, plus one-half of the separate property | The child takes the other half of the separate property. |
| Spouse and two or more children | All community property, plus one-third of the separate property | The children split the other two-thirds of the separate property equally. |
| Spouse, no children, but a parent living | All community property, plus one-half of the separate property | The decedent’s parents take the other half of the separate property. |
| Spouse only (no children, no parents) | The entire estate | No one else inherits. |
| Children only (no spouse) | Nothing (no spouse) | The children take the entire estate, equally. |
| No spouse or descendants | Nothing | If there is no spouse or descendant, the estate passes in order to the decedent’s parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents, then more distant relatives. If no relative can be found, the estate escheats to the State of California. |
| How it is administered | Probate | The estate is administered in probate court under these rules unless a small-estate procedure applies. A will would override all of this, which is why the intestacy rules only fill the gap when there is none. |
| Statute | Cal. Prob. Code §6401, §6402 | The controlling statute. Read the full text through the source link below. |
Next steps
Concrete, neutral steps if you are dealing with an estate that has no will in California. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Map out who would inherit
List the surviving spouse, children, and parents, and separate the couple’s community property from any separate property. Those two facts decide almost the entire split under Probate Code §6401 and §6402.
- Write a will if this is not what you want
Intestacy is only the default. If you would rather leave things differently, a valid will replaces these rules entirely. That is the single most effective step for anyone who disagrees with the statutory split.
- Check for a small-estate shortcut
California allows simplified transfers for smaller estates without full probate. If the estate is modest, ask the probate court or a legal aid office whether a small-estate affidavit or petition can avoid a long court process.
- Get California probate help
The California Courts self-help center explains probate and intestacy step by step. For a contested or larger estate, a probate attorney can confirm the shares and handle the filing.
To settle an estate with no will, or to plan your own, start with the probate court or a legal-aid resource. This link explains the process.
→ California Courts Self-Help (Wills & Estates)This is general legal information, not legal advice. Adoptions, half-relatives, and a prior will can change who inherits, so confirm your situation before relying on the default shares.
What people get wrong in California
When a Californian dies without a will, the state’s community-property system drives the result. Under Probate Code §6401, the surviving spouse keeps all of the couple’s community property, because the spouse already owned half and the decedent’s half passes to them as well. The part that gets divided is the decedent’s separate property, generally what they owned before marriage or received by gift or inheritance. There the fractions in §6402 take over: the spouse gets one-half if there is a single child, and one-third if there are two or more children, with the children splitting the rest. If there are no children but a parent survives, the spouse takes half the separate property and the parents take the other half. A spouse with no children or parents inherits everything. One point that surprises blended families: California does not change these fractions based on whether the children are the surviving spouse’s, unlike some states. And all of this is only a default; a valid will overrides every line of it.
Common questions
Who inherits if you die without a will in California?
The surviving spouse keeps all community property. The decedent’s separate property is split with children: the spouse gets half with one child and one-third with two or more. With no children but a parent living, the spouse gets half the separate property and the parents get the other half. A spouse with no children or parents takes everything.
Does a spouse get everything in California with no will?
The spouse always keeps all the community property. Whether the spouse gets everything else depends on who else survives. With no children and no parents, the spouse takes the entire estate. With children or parents, the spouse shares the separate property with them.
How is separate property divided in California intestacy?
Under Probate Code §6402, the spouse takes one-half of the separate property if the decedent left one child, and one-third if two or more children survive, with the children taking the balance. If there are no children but parents survive, the spouse and parents split the separate property in half.
What happens to stepchildren in California intestacy?
California does not change the spouse’s fractions based on whether the children are also the surviving spouse’s. A child of the decedent inherits the same share regardless. Stepchildren the decedent never legally adopted do not inherit through intestacy.
What if there are no relatives at all in California?
The estate passes in order to parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents and more distant relatives. If no relative can be located, the estate escheats to the State of California. Writing a will avoids this outcome entirely.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.