When someone dies in California without a valid will, the state writes one for them. A set of statutes called intestate succession takes over, and a probate court distributes everything according to a fixed formula that pays no attention to what the deceased person actually wanted. If you live in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, or Sacramento and have never put your wishes in writing, these rules are your estate plan by default.
Understanding exactly who inherits under intestacy is the clearest reason to write a will of your own. Below is how California divides an estate when there is no will, why community property changes the answer, and how a handwritten (holographic) will lets you decide instead.
What "dying intestate" means in California
Dying intestate simply means dying without a valid will. When that happens, the probate court appoints an administrator to gather the estate and distribute it according to state law rather than personal wishes.1 The controlling rules live in California Probate Code sections 6400 and following. They ask only one question: who are your closest living relatives? Friends, unmarried partners, favorite charities, and stepchildren you never adopted receive nothing under intestacy, no matter how close the relationship was in life.
Community property first. California is a community property state. In general, property a married person acquires during the marriage is community property, and the surviving spouse already owns one half of it. Property owned before marriage, or received during marriage by gift or inheritance, is usually that spouse's separate property. Intestacy only distributes the deceased person's own share, so this classification drives almost every result below.
If you leave a spouse or children
The share your surviving spouse receives depends on two things: whether the asset is community or separate property, and how many children (or other issue) you leave behind. As to community property and quasi-community property, the surviving spouse inherits the one half that belonged to the deceased, which means the spouse ends up owning all of the community property outright.2
Separate property splits differently. If there are no children, parents, or siblings, the spouse takes all of it. If there is one child (or the issue of one deceased child), the spouse and that line each take one half. If there are two or more children, the spouse takes one third and the children divide the remaining two thirds.2
| Who survives you | Community property | Your separate property |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse, no children/parents/siblings | All to spouse | All to spouse |
| Spouse + one child | All to spouse | 1/2 spouse, 1/2 child |
| Spouse + two or more children | All to spouse | 1/3 spouse, 2/3 to children equally |
| Spouse, no children, but parent(s) or siblings | All to spouse | 1/2 spouse, 1/2 to parents (or siblings) |
| Children, no spouse | N/A (becomes estate property) | All to children equally |
Children inherit in equal shares. If one of your children died before you but left children of their own, that deceased child's share passes down to your grandchildren by representation.3
If you leave no spouse and no children
When there is no surviving spouse and no issue, California works down a priority ladder set out in Probate Code section 6402. The estate passes first to your parents equally, or to the survivor if only one parent is living. If no parent survives, it goes to the issue of your parents, meaning your siblings and, by representation, your nieces and nephews. If none of those relatives exist, the law keeps descending: grandparents, then their issue, then more distant kin.4
Intestacy ignores the people you actually chose. An unmarried partner of twenty years, a close friend, a stepchild you raised but never legally adopted, and any charity you cared about all receive nothing under these rules. Only a will can direct property to them. If no qualifying relative can be found at all, the estate can ultimately escheat to the State of California.
Take control with a handwritten will
The good news is that California makes it genuinely easy to opt out of intestacy. Under Probate Code section 6111, a holographic (handwritten) will is valid, with or without witnesses, as long as the signature and the material provisions are in your own handwriting.5 No notary and no witnesses are required. A date is not strictly mandatory, but you should always include one: if an undated holographic will conflicts with another will and the timing cannot be established, the undated will can be invalid to the extent of that conflict.5
Template: simple holographic will
Last Will and Testament
This is the last will of Jane Doe, of San Diego, California.
I revoke all prior wills.
I give all of my property to my partner, Alex Rivera.
I name Alex Rivera as executor.
Dated: March 14, 2026
Jane Doe (signature)
California also protects family members who get left out by accident. If you marry after signing your will and never update it, an "omitted spouse" may still claim a share of your estate, roughly what they would have received under intestacy, unless your will shows the omission was intentional or you provided for them another way.6 A similar protection exists for a child born or adopted after the will was signed. There is no forced heirship in California, so you can generally disinherit an adult child on purpose, but you have to say so clearly in the document.
For a step by step walkthrough of drafting and signing your own document, see our guide on how to write a will in California. When you are ready to put it together in minutes, you can build a compliant handwritten will using our California will template, then copy it out by hand, sign, and date it. That single afternoon is all it takes to replace the state's default plan with your own.
Sources
- 1California Courts Self-Help: Guide to wills, estates, and probate court (selfhelp.courts.ca.gov)
- 2California Probate Code Section 6401 (surviving spouse's intestate share) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- 3Nolo: Intestate Succession in California (nolo.com)
- 4California Probate Code Section 6402 (order of intestate succession) (codes.findlaw.com)
- 5California Probate Code Section 6111 (holographic wills) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- 6California Probate Code Section 21610 (omitted spouse) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
About the author
Max Kuch
Max Kuch writes about estate planning, wills and inheritance for California Will Template. He gathers the rules from the California statutes and the leading public data, then explains them in plain, accessible language so anyone can put their wishes in writing.