Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Georgia, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Georgia’s intestacy statute (O.C.G.A. §53-2-1) decides who gets it, and the surviving spouse usually does not take everything. The single most common misunderstanding on this page: a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship can cut the spouse’s share sharply below what most people assume.
What this guide covers
Who inherits from Georgia residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: O.C.G.A. §53-2-1 and the sections around it. It governs only the probate estate: what is left after retirement accounts and life insurance with a living named beneficiary, payable-on-death accounts, property in joint tenancy with survivorship, and anything already in a funded trust have already passed outside it. This page covers the spouse’s share, who inherits if there is no spouse, and the rules that can change the answer: half-blood relatives.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: Spouse is sole heir only when the decedent ‘is survived by a spouse but not by any child or other descendant’; §53-2-1(c)(1). No carve-out for surviving parents when a spouse survives.
When it is less than everything: Not UPC, not a flat fraction either; a per-capita share-and-share-alike rule with a 1/3 floor. §53-2-1(c)(1): ‘If the decedent is also survived by any child or other descendant, the spouse shall share equally with the children … provided, however, that the spouse’s portion shall not be less than a one-third share.’ With 1 child: spouse gets 1/2. With 2 children: 1/3 each already at the floor. With 3+ children: spouse gets exactly 1/3, remaining 2/3 split per stirpes among children. No blended-family carve-out.
Upon the death of an individual who is survived by a spouse but not by any child or other descendant, the spouse is the sole heir. If the decedent is also survived by any child or other descendant, the spouse shall share equally with the children, with the descendants of any deceased child taking that child’s share, per stirpes; provided, however, that the spouse’s portion shall not be less than a one-third share;
Source: O.C.G.A. §53-2-1
If a DIY will fits your situation in Georgia
In Georgia, a surviving spouse can end up sharing the estate with a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship under the default rules above; a will is what lets you decide that instead of the statute. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link; it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
Who inherits if there is no spouse
By degree of kinship: children [1st degree] per stirpes -> parents [2nd degree] equally -> siblings [3rd degree] per stirpes (if no sibling survives, nieces/nephews take directly and equally) -> grandparents [4th degree] equally -> aunts/uncles [5th degree] per stirpes; if none, first cousins share equally -> more remote kin by degree-counting.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: Full share; Georgia treats half-blood relatives EQUALLY with whole-blood. §53-2-1(b)(2): ‘The half-blood, whether on the maternal or paternal side, are considered equally with the whole-blood.’ (This corrects the common assumption that Georgia reduces half-blood shares.)
Sourcing note: Georgia’s official statute host could not be reached this session; this row is sourced to independent verbatim-text mirrors instead of the state’s own site; see https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-53-wills-trusts-and-administration-of-estates/ga-code-sect-53-2-1/.
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Georgia property that the intestacy rules would send somewhere else: a spouse who would otherwise share the estate with a stepchild, a partner who is not married and inherits nothing under intestacy at all, or specific people the statute’s ladder never reaches. It also lets you name an executor rather than leaving the court to appoint one. What it does not change: assets that already pass outside probate: a will has no effect on a beneficiary designation, a payable-on-death account, or property held in joint tenancy.
General information drawn from state intestate-succession statutes, not legal advice. Who inherits without a will is STATE law and differs in every state; the spouse’s share, the order of inheritance, and how half-blood and community-property rules apply all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.