Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Indiana, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Indiana’s intestacy statute (Ind. Code §29-1-2-1) 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 Indiana residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: Ind. Code §29-1-2-1 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 takes ALL of the net estate only if there is no surviving issue AND no surviving parent; IC 29-1-2-1(b)(3). A surviving parent alone caps the spouse at three-fourths.
When it is less than everything: Ordinary case: 1/2 of net estate with at least one surviving child/issue; 3/4 if no issue but a parent survives; all if no issue or parent. BLENDED-FAMILY CASE: a childless second/subsequent spouse’s REAL PROPERTY share is capped at 25% of fair market value (minus liens) when the decedent is survived by children/descendants from a previous spouse (§29-1-2-1(c)); the personal-property share stays at the normal fraction. No flat starting dollar amount anywhere in the current statute (pure fraction/percentage formula, not a UPC dollar-plus-fraction).
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), the surviving spouse shall receive the following share: (1) One-half (1/2) of the net estate if the intestate is survived by at least one (1) child or by the issue of at least one (1) deceased child. (2) Three-fourths (3/4) of the net estate, if there is no surviving issue, but the intestate is survived by one (1) or both of the intestate’s parents. (3) All of the net estate, if there is no surviving issue or parent.
Source: Ind. Code §29-1-2-1
If a DIY will fits your situation in Indiana
In Indiana, 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
issue by representation -> parents, siblings, and issue of deceased siblings pooled TOGETHER as one tier (each parent treated as a sibling’s degree, but never less than 1/4 of net estate) -> issue of siblings -> grandparents equally -> great-aunts/great-uncles or their issue per stirpes -> escheat.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: Full share. IC 29-1-2-5: ‘Kindred of the half blood shall inherit the same share which they would have inherited if they had been of the whole blood.’
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Indiana 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.