Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in California, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means California’s intestacy statute (Cal. Prob. Code §6401 (surviving spouse’s share); §100 (community property at death)) 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 California residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: Cal. Prob. Code §6401 (surviving spouse’s share); §100 (community property at death) 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, community property.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: Spouse takes the ENTIRE intestate estate only as to separate property, and only if the decedent left no surviving issue, no surviving parent, no surviving brother or sister, AND no surviving issue of a deceased brother or sister; §6401(c)(1). This is broader than the ‘no descendants/no parents’ pattern: California also requires no surviving siblings or their descendants before the spouse takes all of the separate property. Community and quasi-community property is not part of this ‘entire estate’ analysis; the spouse already owns their own half outright under §100/§101 regardless of who else survives.
When it is less than everything: Separate property (§6401(c)): entire estate if no surviving issue/parent/sibling/sibling’s issue (c)(1); ONE-HALF if decedent leaves only one child (or issue of one deceased child), or leaves no issue but a parent/parents or their issue (c)(2); ONE-THIRD if decedent leaves more than one child, or one child plus issue of one or more deceased children, or issue of two or more deceased children (c)(3). Community/quasi-community property (§6401(a)-(b)): the spouse’s share is simply their own pre-existing one-half under §100/§101; not affected by descendants. California’s separate-property formula scales by NUMBER of children/descendants, not by whether a descendant is also the surviving spouse’s own child; i.e., no blended-family reduction analogous to Texas/Florida/Pennsylvania.
Prob. Code §6401(c): ‘As to separate property, the intestate share of the surviving spouse is as follows: (1) The entire intestate estate if the decedent did not leave any surviving issue, parent, brother, sister, or issue of a deceased brother or sister. (2) One-half of the intestate estate in the following cases: (A) Where the decedent leaves only one child or the issue of one deceased child. (B) Where the decedent leaves no issue, but leaves a parent or parents or their issue or the issue of either of them. (3) One-third of the intestate estate in the following cases: (A) Where the decedent leaves more than one child. (B) Where the decedent leaves one child and the issue of one or more deceased children. (C) Where the decedent leaves issue of two or more deceased children.’ Prob. Code §100(a): ‘Upon the death of a person who is married or in a registered domestic partnership, one-half of the community property belongs to the surviving spouse and the other one-half belongs to the decedent.’
Source: Cal. Prob. Code §6401 (surviving spouse’s share); §100 (community property at death)
If a DIY will fits your situation in California
In California, 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
Prob. Code §6402: (a) issue, by representation; (b) parents, equally; (c) issue of parents (siblings and their issue), by representation; (d) grandparents, or if none, their issue; (e) issue of a predeceased spouse; (f) next of kin of equal degree (nearest-ancestor line preferred over more remote); (g) parents of a predeceased spouse, or their issue. §6404: if no taker under the above, escheats to the state (Part 4, commencing §6800).
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: FULL share, same as whole-blood relatives. §6406: ‘Except as provided in Section 6451, relatives of the halfblood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.’
Community property: California is a community-property state. The surviving spouse already owns their own half of community property outright (Cal. Prob. Code §100); that half is not part of the intestacy analysis at all. Only the decedent’s half of community property, and any separate property, passes under the shares above.
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets California 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.