Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Ohio, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Ohio’s intestacy statute (Ohio Rev. Code §2105.06) 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 Ohio residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: Ohio Rev. Code §2105.06 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 WHOLE estate in two scenarios: (E) no children or lineal descendants at all (parents notwithstanding); and (B) there ARE children/descendants but ALL of the decedent’s surviving children (or their descendants) are ALSO children of the surviving spouse.
When it is less than everything: (C) exactly one child (or that child’s lineal descendants) and the surviving spouse is NOT the natural/adoptive parent of that child: ‘the first twenty thousand dollars plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate to the spouse and the remainder to the child.’ (D) more than one child, not all the spouse’s own: ‘the first sixty thousand dollars if the spouse is the natural or adoptive parent of one, but not all, of the children, or the first twenty thousand dollars if the spouse is the natural or adoptive parent of none of the children, plus one-third of the balance of the intestate estate to the spouse.’
(D) If there is a spouse and more than one child or their lineal descendants surviving, the first sixty thousand dollars if the spouse is the natural or adoptive parent of one, but not all, of the children, or the first twenty thousand dollars if the spouse is the natural or adoptive parent of none of the children, plus one-third of the balance of the intestate estate to the spouse and the remainder to the children equally, or to the lineal descendants of any deceased child, per stirpes;
Source: Ohio Rev. Code §2105.06
If a DIY will fits your situation in Ohio
In Ohio, 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
(A) children/lineal descendants per stirpes -> (F) parents equally, or surviving parent -> (G) siblings, whole or half blood, or their lineal descendants per stirpes -> (H) grandparents: 1/2 paternal, 1/2 maternal -> (I) lineal descendants of grandparents per stirpes -> (J) stepchildren or their lineal descendants per stirpes -> (K) escheat.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: Full share, explicit. §2105.06(G): ‘brothers and sisters, whether of the whole or of the half blood of the intestate, or their lineal descendants, per stirpes.’
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Ohio 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.