Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in New Jersey, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means New Jersey’s intestacy statute (N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3) 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 New Jersey residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3 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/partner takes the ENTIRE intestate estate if: (1) no descendant or parent of the decedent survives; OR (2) all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse/partner AND the surviving spouse/partner has no other surviving descendant who is not also the decedent’s.
When it is less than everything: If no descendant survives but a parent does: ‘The first 25% of the intestate estate, but not less than $50,000.00 nor more than $200,000.00, plus three-fourths of any balance’ (3B:5-3(b)). If there ARE non-mutual surviving descendants (blended family), or the spouse has outside descendants: ‘The first 25% of the intestate estate, but not less than $50,000.00 nor more than $200,000.00, plus one-half of the balance’ (3B:5-3(c)).
The first 25% of the intestate estate, but not less than $50,000.00 nor more than $200,000.00, plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate: … (2) If one or more of the decedent’s surviving descendants is not a descendant of the surviving spouse, partner in a civil union, or domestic partner.
Source: N.J.S.A. 3B:5-3
If a DIY will fits your situation in New Jersey
In New Jersey, 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.
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Who inherits if there is no spouse
descendants by representation -> parents equally or surviving parent -> descendants of parents (siblings/nieces/nephews) -> half paternal grandparents (or descendants), half maternal (or descendants), full crossover if one side empty -> descendants of grandparents by degree of kinship -> NJ-specific quirk: stepchildren or their descendants by representation (most states escheat here instead).
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: Full share, no reduction. N.J.S.A. 3B:5-7: ‘Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.’
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets New Jersey 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.