Key Takeaways
When you pass away without a valid will or trust in California, the state’s intestacy laws take control of your estate. This means your assets are distributed based on a rigid hierarchy that may not align with your personal wishes. The probate process, which is time-consuming and costly, determines who inherits your property, and the court appoints an administrator to handle your estate. Without a plan in place, your loved ones may experience unnecessary stress, financial strain, and delays. Understanding the consequences of intestacy is the first step toward ensuring your estate is handled according to your desires.
When you die without a will in California, the state decides what happens to everything you own. This situation is called "intestacy." Understanding what happens without an estate plan is the first step toward avoiding it.
To die "intestate" means to pass away without a valid will or trust. When this happens, you forfeit every decision about your estate. You cannot choose who receives your assets. You cannot name guardians for your minor children. You cannot select who manages your affairs.
The moment you die without a will in California, the probate process in California takes over. A judge—someone who never met you—makes all the choices you could have made yourself. An experienced Orange County probate attorney sees this outcome regularly: families left scrambling because their loved one never put a plan in place.
Intestacy rules in California dictate exactly who inherits your property. The state uses a fixed hierarchy based solely on blood relationships. Your surviving spouse may have to share with your children. If you have no spouse or children, assets go to parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives.
This formula ignores your actual relationships. A long-term partner you never married? They get nothing. Stepchildren you raised as your own? Excluded entirely. A charity close to your heart? Not considered. The state's one-size-fits-all approach rarely matches what people actually want. Your estate passes according to a law written for everyone—not a plan designed for you.
California has specific laws governing estates without valid planning documents. The probate process in California kicks in automatically, transferring decision-making power from your family to the court system.
When you die without a will in California, the probate court steps in immediately. A judge must identify your legal heirs using California's intestacy rules. This process takes time. The court reviews family records, verifies relationships, and determines who qualifies to inherit.
The court also appoints an administrator to manage your estate. This person handles your assets, pays your debts, and distributes property to heirs. Here's the problem: you don't get to choose this person. The court selects someone based on legal priority—typically your surviving spouse or closest relative. But that person may not be financially savvy, trustworthy, or even willing. Any Orange County probate attorney can tell you stories of administrators who mismanaged estates or caused family rifts simply because the deceased never named their own executor.
The intestacy rules in California establish a rigid order of inheritance. The law recognizes specific categories of "heirs at law"—people legally entitled to your property based on their relationship to you.
The principle is simple: the closest class of relatives wins everything. If you have a surviving spouse and children, they share your estate according to a set formula. No spouse or children? Your parents inherit. No parents? Siblings. The hierarchy continues to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Only when no relatives exist does the state claim your assets. This system treats every family identically, regardless of individual circumstances or what happens without an estate plan that reflects your actual wishes.
California law determines exactly who receives your assets when you have no plan. The intestacy rules in California create a fixed pecking order that applies to every estate equally.
When you die without a will in California, the state uses this hierarchy to identify your heirs:
| Priority | Relationship to Decedent |
| 1st | Surviving Spouse (often shares with children) |
| 2nd | Children and Grandchildren |
| 3rd | Parents |
| 4th | Siblings |
| 5th | Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles |
Each level must be exhausted before the next level inherits anything. If you have a surviving spouse, they receive a portion—sometimes all, sometimes shared with your children, depending on the circumstances. Only if you have no spouse do your children inherit everything outright. The probate process in California methodically works through this list until it finds qualifying heirs.
This statutory distribution rarely matches what people actually want. The law was written for traditional nuclear families. It fails modern reality.
Consider what happens without an estate plan in these common situations: Your unmarried partner of twenty years inherits nothing. Your stepchildren you raised from infancy, are legally strangers. Your estranged sibling you haven't spoken to in decades, could inherit ahead of your closest friend. Any Orange County probate attorney has witnessed these outcomes firsthand. Blended families suffer the most. The law sees only blood and marriage—not love, not loyalty, not your actual intentions. Without a will or trust, California's rigid formula overrides everything you would have chosen.
The probate process in California follows a specific legal procedure when no estate plan exists. Understanding this process reveals why proper planning matters so much.
Probate is mandatory for intestate estates. A judge oversees the entire process from start to finish. The court validates heir relationships, approves administrator actions, and authorizes every distribution. Nothing happens without judicial approval.
Here's what many families don't expect: probate is entirely public. Every document filed becomes part of the court record. Anyone can access information about your assets, debts, and beneficiaries. Your financial life becomes an open book. When you die without a will in California, you surrender not just control but privacy. Creditors, estranged relatives, and curious strangers can all review the details of your estate.
The intestacy rules in California strip away every choice you could have made. You cannot name an executor you trust. You cannot specify which child receives the family home. You cannot leave anything to friends, charities, or non-relatives who matter to you.
For parents, the stakes are even higher. What happens without an estate plan includes a judge deciding who raises your children. The court must appoint a guardia, —but the judge doesn't know your family. They don't know which relative shares your values, which one struggles financially, or which one your children actually feel comfortable with. An Orange County probate attorney sees these cases regularly. Parents assume the family will "figure it out." Instead, relatives compete in court while children wait in uncertainty. A simple will prevents this entirely.
Death doesn't erase what you owe. The probate process in California requires that all debts be addressed before heirs receive anything. Your obligations follow your estate.
When you die without a will in California, the court-appointed administrator must notify all known creditors. Credit card companies, mortgage lenders, medical providers—everyone gets a chance to file claims against your estate. The intestacy rules in California give creditors priority over your heirs.
This process exposes your estate to maximum liability. Creditors have a set window to submit claims. Potential lawsuits can also target estate assets. Without proper planning, there's no protection. What happens without an estate plan is straightforward: your debts get settled using the money and property you intended for loved ones. An Orange County probate attorney often watches families discover their inheritance shrinking as creditor claims pile up.
Debts are paid in full before any distribution occurs. If your estate lacks sufficient funds, beneficiaries absorb the loss—not creditors.
Consider a common scenario: you have $200,000 in assets but $150,000 in medical bills, credit card balances, and other obligations. After paying debts and probate costs, little remains for your family. In the worst cases, the estate is insolvent. Heirs inherit nothing. The assets you spent a lifetime accumulating vanish into debt repayment. Proper planning can shield certain assets from creditors. Intestacy offers no such protection.
Intestacy creates real hardship for the people you leave behind. The legal complications and family strain can last for years.
When you die without a will in California, your assets become immediately inaccessible. Bank accounts freeze. Property cannot be sold. Investments sit untouched. Everything waits while the probate process in California slowly works through your estate.
Most people drastically underestimate how long this takes. Only 2% of Americans correctly guess the actual probate timeline. Families expect weeks; they get months or years. Meanwhile, your loved ones may struggle to pay bills, maintain property, or access funds they desperately need. What happens without an estate plan is a prolonged legal limbo that strains finances and patience alike.
The intestacy rules in California devastate blended families. Consider Jerry's story. He died without a plan, leaving his house solely in his name. His widow, Dorothy, assumed she would keep their home. She was wrong.
Jerry's daughter from his first marriage asserted her legal rights. Under California law, she was entitled to approximately one-third of the house's fair market value. Dorothy faced an impossible choice: sell the family home or buy out her stepdaughter's share. She cashed in part of her retirement IRA to keep the house. The financial stress was crushing. Worse, the previously warm relationship between Dorothy and her stepdaughter turned bitter. Any Orange County probate attorney has witnessed similar tragedies. Jerry likely wanted Dorothy to keep the home. A simple will would have guaranteed it. Instead, the law divided his family along with his assets.
Sometimes people create wills but forget to include certain assets. Other times, they acquire new property after signing their documents. California has rules for these gaps.
Any asset not specifically mentioned in your will defaults to the intestacy rules in California. The same rigid hierarchy applies. Your surviving spouse and children share according to statutory formulas. The probate process in California treats these forgotten assets exactly like an estate with no will at all.
This catches many families off guard. You might carefully distribute your home, savings, and investments—then forget about a vacation property or inherited jewelry. When you die without a will covering those items, California's formula takes over. An Orange County probate attorney frequently sees partial plans create partial chaos. The solution is comprehensive planning that accounts for everything you own, including assets you might acquire later.
Not everything follows intestacy rules. Non-probate assets pass directly to named beneficiaries regardless of what your will says—or whether you have one at all.
These include life insurance policies, retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs, bank accounts with payable-on-death designations, and property held in joint tenancy. The beneficiary designation controls. What happens without an estate plan for these assets depends entirely on the forms you filed with each institution. This is why updating beneficiary designations matters as much as updating your will. Outdated forms can send assets to ex-spouses or deceased relatives, creating expensive legal problems for the people you actually wanted to inherit.
The probate process in California follows a predictable sequence when no estate plan exists. Each step requires court approval, adding time and expense.
When you die without a will in California, your estate moves through these stages:
Every step requires documentation, court filings, and judicial oversight. The intestacy rules in California mandate this rigid process. Nothing moves forward without approval. What happens without an estate plan is a slow, methodical march through bureaucracy while your family waits.
The administrator serves as the estate's manager. They gather assets, pay bills, handle creditors, and eventually distribute property to heirs. It's a demanding job with legal responsibilities.
Here's the problem: you don't choose this person. The court appoints someone based on statutory priority—typically your closest relative. That person may lack financial skills, live far away, or have conflicts with other family members. Worse, the administrator gets paid from your estate. Their fees reduce what your heirs receive. An Orange County probate attorney can explain how these costs compound. A will lets you name a trusted executor who knows your wishes. Intestacy hands control to whoever the court selects.
Intestacy is expensive. The probate process in California extracts significant fees before your heirs receive anything. Understanding these costs reveals why planning saves money.
When you die without a will in California, attorney's fees and court costs accumulate quickly. These expenses typically consume 5% to 10% of your estate's gross value—not net value. The calculation ignores your debts entirely.
Consider a $500,000 estate. Probate costs could reach $25,000 to $50,000. That money would have gone to your family. Instead, it pays lawyers, court fees, and administrative expenses. What happens without an estate plan is a significant wealth transfer—from your heirs to the legal system. An Orange County probate attorney sees these numbers regularly. Most families are shocked when they learn what intestacy actually costs.
The intestacy rules in California create a lengthy process. The average probate timeline nationwide stretches to 20 months. Even simple, uncontested cases take longer than a year. Complex estates can drag on for two years or more.
During this time, assets sit frozen. Property taxes still come due. Maintenance costs continue. Investment opportunities pass. Your family cannot access funds to cover these expenses without court permission. The financial drain extends far beyond direct probate fees. Every month of delay costs money. A proper estate plan—especially a living trust—can transfer assets to heirs in weeks rather than years. The savings in time, stress, and actual dollars make planning one of the smartest financial decisions you can make.
A trust offers the most effective way to avoid intestacy entirely. Understanding how trusts work reveals why they're often superior to wills alone.
A Revocable Living Trust sidesteps the intestacy rules in California altogether. When you transfer assets into a trust, those assets no longer belong to you personally—they belong to the trust. Upon your death, the successor trustee you selected takes over immediately. No court involvement. No waiting.
This matters for two reasons. First, your family accesses assets right away instead of enduring the probate process in California. Second, trusts remain private. Unlike probate filings, trust documents never become public record. Your estate's value, your beneficiaries, and your wishes—all stay confidential. What happens without an estate plan is the opposite: everything exposed, everything delayed. An Orange County probate attorney often recommends trusts specifically for clients who value privacy and efficiency.
The differences between wills and trusts are significant. A will must go through probate for validation. A trust does not. This single distinction saves months of waiting and thousands in fees.
Trusts also provide stronger protection against challenges. Disgruntled relatives can contest wills relatively easily. Trusts are harder to overturn. Courts give greater deference to trust documents, increasing the likelihood your wishes will be honored exactly as written. When you die without a will in California, the state decides everything. With a properly funded trust, you maintain control from beyond the grave—your choices, your terms, your legacy protected.
Don’t let California’s intestacy laws decide what happens to your estate. Proper planning, including a will or trust, ensures your assets go to the people and causes you care about. Avoid the lengthy probate process, reduce costs, and protect your legacy by making informed estate planning decisions. At Parker Law Offices, we’re here to help you create a plan that reflects your wishes. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and start protecting your family’s future.
