Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Idaho, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Idaho’s intestacy statute (Idaho Code §§15-2-102, 15-2-103, 15-2-107 (Title 15, Uniform Probate Code, Chapter 2, Part 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 Idaho residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: Idaho Code §§15-2-102, 15-2-103, 15-2-107 (Title 15, Uniform Probate Code, Chapter 2, Part 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, community property.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: As to separate property: if there is no surviving issue or parent of the decedent, the entire intestate estate. As to community property, section 15-2-102(b)(1) gives the surviving spouse the decedent’s one-half regardless of descendants, so combined with the spouse’s own pre-existing one-half, the spouse ends up owning the entirety of the former community estate no matter who else survives.
When it is less than everything: Separate property (section 15-2-102(a)): entire estate if no surviving issue or parent; one-half (1/2) if no issue but a parent or parents survive; one-half (1/2) if there are surviving issue of the deceased spouse, i.e. whenever the decedent leaves any surviving issue at all, full stop. Idaho has NO blended-family reduction: unlike Hawaii/Maine’s modern multi-tier dollar-plus-fraction UPC formulas, Idaho retained the original (pre-1990 amendment) UPC structure, so the spouse’s one-half separate-property share does not change based on whether the decedent’s surviving issue are also the spouse’s issue.
If there are surviving issue of the deceased spouse, one-half (1/2) of the intestate estate. and As to community property: The one-half (1/2) of community property which belongs to the decedent passes to the surviving spouse. (Idaho Code section 15-2-102)
Source: Idaho Code §§15-2-102, 15-2-103, 15-2-107 (Title 15, Uniform Probate Code, Chapter 2, Part 1)
If a DIY will fits your situation in Idaho
In Idaho, 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
Section 15-2-103(a)-(d): (a) to the decedent’s issue (equal degree share equally; unequal degree take by representation); (b) if no issue, to parent(s) equally; (c) if no issue or parent, to issue of the parents by representation; (d) if none of the above, to grandparents/their issue, split half to paternal side and half to maternal side (with representation among unequal-degree issue), collapsing entirely to one side if the other has no survivors.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: Full share. Idaho Code section 15-2-107: ‘Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.’
Community property: Idaho is a community-property state. The decedent’s one-half of community property passes to the surviving spouse unconditionally regardless of who else survives (Idaho Code section 15-2-102(b)(1)); combined with the spouse’s own pre-existing one-half owned outright, the surviving spouse ends up with the entire former community estate on intestacy no matter what. Only the decedent’s separate property is divided under the fractions above, and Idaho’s separate-property fractions do not distinguish shared from non-shared descendants.
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Idaho 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.