Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Virginia, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Virginia’s intestacy statute (Va. Code Ann. §64.2-200 (real and, via §64.2-201, personal estate)) 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 Virginia residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: Va. Code Ann. §64.2-200 (real and, via §64.2-201, personal estate) 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 takes the entire estate UNLESS the decedent is survived by children/descendants one or more of whom are NOT children/descendants of the surviving spouse. Does NOT depend on whether a parent survives.
When it is less than everything: Blended-family case only: ‘two-thirds of the estate descends and passes to the decedent’s children and their descendants, and one-third of the estate descends and passes to the surviving spouse.’ Flat fraction, not dollar-plus-fraction. No separate reduced share triggered by a surviving parent with no descendants.
To the surviving spouse of the decedent, unless the decedent is survived by children or their descendants, one or more of whom are not children or their descendants of the surviving spouse, in which case, two-thirds of the estate descends and passes to the decedent’s children and their descendants, and one-third of the estate descends and passes to the surviving spouse.
Source: Va. Code Ann. §64.2-200 (real and, via §64.2-201, personal estate)
If a DIY will fits your situation in Virginia
In Virginia, 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
children/descendants -> parents or surviving parent -> siblings and descendants -> split 50/50 paternal/maternal: grandparent(s), then uncles/aunts and descendants, then great-grandparents, then siblings of grandparents and descendants, continuing outward; if one side empty, whole estate to other side; VA-SPECIFIC QUIRK: if no kindred of either parent survives, estate passes to kindred of decedent’s most recent deceased spouse; failing that, escheats to the Commonwealth.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: REDUCED; half share, not full. Va. Code Ann. §64.2-202(B): ‘Collaterals of the half blood shall inherit only half as much as those of the whole blood.’ A notable outlier versus NJ/MA/WA/AZ.
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Virginia 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.