Family & Estate · Intestate Succession
Intestate Succession in Georgia
Who inherits, and how much, when a person dies without a will in Georgia, broken down by family situation, cited to the statute.
Who inherits in Georgia, by scenario
The share for the surviving spouse and everyone else, for each common family situation.
| Who survives | Surviving spouse gets | Everyone else gets |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse and one child | One-half of the estate | The child takes the other half. With only one child, an equal split gives the spouse half, which is above the one-third floor. |
| Spouse and two children | One-third of the estate | The two children take one-third each. Three equal shares put the spouse at exactly the one-third minimum. |
| Spouse and three or more children | One-third of the estate (the statutory minimum) | The children split the remaining two-thirds equally, with a deceased child’s share passing to that child’s descendants per stirpes. Because the spouse is guaranteed at least one-third, the children divide only what is left after the spouse’s floor is met. |
| Spouse only (no descendants) | The entire estate | The decedent’s parents inherit nothing while a spouse survives. |
| Children only (no spouse) | Nothing (no spouse) | The children take the entire estate equally, with a deceased child’s share passing to that child’s descendants per stirpes. |
| No spouse or descendants | Nothing | With no spouse or descendant, the estate passes under §53-2-1 in degrees of kinship: first to the parents equally, then to brothers and sisters and the descendants of deceased siblings per stirpes, then to grandparents, then to uncles and aunts and their children. If no heir can be found, the estate escheats to the State of Georgia. |
| How it is administered | Probate | The estate is administered in probate court under these rules unless it qualifies for a simpler process, such as an order that no administration is necessary when the heirs agree. A valid will overrides all of it. |
| Statute | O.C.G.A. §53-2-1 | 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 Georgia. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Count the heirs, then apply the one-third floor
Start by counting the surviving spouse and children as equal shares. If that math would drop the spouse below one-third, bump the spouse up to one-third and split the rest among the children. A spouse and two children each take a third; a spouse and four children give the spouse a third and the children a sixth each.
- Treat all of the decedent’s children the same
Georgia does not change the shares based on whether a child is also the surviving spouse’s. Every child of the decedent counts as an equal heir, and a deceased child’s share passes to that child’s own descendants per stirpes.
- Write a will if this is not your plan
These shares are only a default. A valid Georgia will replaces them, which matters most when you want your spouse to take more than a one-third or one-half share, since intestacy always leaves part of the estate to the children.
- Get Georgia probate help
The State Bar of Georgia and your county probate court explain administration and the no-administration-necessary option. For a larger or contested 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.
→ State Bar of Georgia (For the Public)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 Georgia
Georgia has an unusually even-handed intestacy rule: the surviving spouse and the children all share the estate in equal parts. Under O.C.G.A. §53-2-1, a spouse and two children each take one-third, and a spouse and three children would each take one-fourth, except for one guardrail. The spouse’s share can never fall below one-third, no matter how many children survive. So with four or more children, the spouse still keeps a full one-third and the children divide the remaining two-thirds among themselves. That one-third floor is the detail most people miss. Georgia also treats every child of the decedent as an equal heir, without the blended-family adjustments that some states make, and a deceased child’s share passes to that child’s own descendants per stirpes. When there are no children or other descendants, the spouse is the sole heir and takes everything, ahead of the decedent’s parents. All of this is only a default that a valid will replaces, which is why a spouse who should take more than a third or a half needs one.
Common questions
Who inherits if you die without a will in Georgia?
The surviving spouse and the children share the estate equally, with the spouse guaranteed at least one-third. A spouse and one child split it in half; a spouse and two children take a third each. With no children, the spouse takes everything. Children with no spouse take the whole estate equally.
Does a spouse get everything in Georgia with no will?
Only when there are no children or other descendants. If children survive, the spouse shares equally with them but never takes less than one-third. Under §53-2-1, a spouse with children cannot inherit the entire estate through intestacy.
What is the one-third rule for spouses in Georgia?
Georgia divides the estate into equal shares among the spouse and the children, but caps the number of shares so the spouse always keeps at least one-third. With three or more children, equal division would drop the spouse below a third, so the spouse takes a full third and the children split the rest.
How much does a spouse inherit in Georgia with two children?
One-third. The spouse and the two children each take an equal one-third share under O.C.G.A. §53-2-1. That is the point where an equal split lands the spouse exactly on the one-third minimum.
What if there are no relatives in Georgia?
The estate passes in degrees of kinship: parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents, then uncles and aunts and their children. If no heir can be located, the estate escheats to the State of Georgia. A will avoids that result.
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.