If a person dies without a will, the person died intestate. The person who died is called the decedent. The decedent's property is given to the decedent's heirs during a probate court case.

A decedent's relatives also get part of the estate. If someone is married and has no children, everything goes to the surviving spouse. If there is a spouse and two children, the spouse gets half of the assets of the estate. The children get the other half divided equally between them. If there is no spouse, but three children, the children get everything divided equally. The court will also give the spouse and any dependent children money from the estate as support for 9 months. A spouse can inherit in this way even if they have been separated for a long time, as long as the marriage was not legally dissolved (divorce) or there was no legal separation through a court.

If the person had no spouse or children, then their property goes to their next closest surviving relatives. The order of intestate inheritance is as follows:

• Divided equally among parents and siblings, with a double portion going to a single surviving parent if there is no other parent.
• If there are no parents, but there are siblings, the siblings divide the estate equally.
• If there are no parents or siblings, but nieces and nephews, the nieces and nephews divide the estate equally.
• If there are no living parents, siblings, or descendants of siblings, the estate will be inherited by the grandparents and their descendants. This includes aunts, uncles, or cousins. 
• If there are no living parents, siblings, descendants of siblings, grandparents, or descendants of grandparents, then the estate will be inherited by the great-grandparents and their descendants.
• If there is no spouse and no close relatives, the entire estate goes to the next nearest "kindred" who can establish the relationship.
• If there is no spouse and kindred, the real property goes to the county where it is located. Any personal property goes to the state.

Basically, it will go to the nearest blood relatives, divided equally between them. Note, the division of the estate is based only on marriage and blood relations. The "interpersonal relationship" does not matter. Even if someone feels "closer" to one sibling than another, the estate will still be divided equally among all the siblings.

Important: To leave anything to non-married partners, friends, or non-blood relations such as stepchildren or in-laws, you will need to have a will or other official estate planning documents. Without it, these individuals will not receive any part of your estate.

The probate court assigns an administrator to settle the decedent's estate when there is no will. The administrator has to do certain things, including:

• Gathering all of the person's assets,
• Paying bills out of the decedent's money, or
• Distributing the estate property to those people who should receive money or property.

Unborn children and assisted reproduction

A child born after a decedent dies can still be included in the estate. The child must be in utero at the time of the decedent's death. In utero means developing in the womb, but not born yet.

The child can also be counted if it was created with assisted reproduction. The child will be included if:

• The decedent is the biological parent of the child (the sperm or egg of the decedent was used to create the child),
• The child is born within 36 months of the decedent's death,
• The decedent consented in writing before death to be a legal parent of any potential child created from their sperm or egg, and
• The administrator of the estate receives a written notice with a copy of the decedent's written consent within six months of the decedent's death.