Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Utah, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Utah’s intestacy statute (Utah Code §§ 75-2-102 (Intestate share of spouse); 75-2-103 (Share of heirs other than surviving spouse); 75-2-107 (Kindred of half blood)) 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 Utah residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: Utah Code §§ 75-2-102 (Intestate share of spouse); 75-2-103 (Share of heirs other than surviving spouse); 75-2-107 (Kindred of half blood) 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: Utah Code section 75-2-102(1)(a): the entire intestate estate if (i) no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent, or (ii) all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse.
When it is less than everything: Section 75-2-102(1)(a): entire intestate estate if no descendants survive, or if all surviving descendants are also the spouse’s descendants. Section 75-2-102(1)(b): the first $75,000, plus 1/2 of any balance of the intestate estate, if one or more of the decedent’s surviving descendants are NOT descendants of the surviving spouse (blended-family reduction). Utah has only two tiers; unlike DC/West Virginia it has no separate middle tier for ‘spouse has other descendants not of decedent’; any non-shared descendant of the decedent triggers the same $75,000-plus-half formula. Section 75-2-102(2): nonprobate transfers received by the spouse are added back to the estate for calculating heirs’ shares and treated as an advancement against the spouse’s share.
(a) the entire intestate estate if: (i) no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent; or (ii) all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse; (b) the first $75,000, plus 1/2 of any balance of the intestate estate, if one or more of the decedent’s surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse.
Source: Utah Code §§ 75-2-102 (Intestate share of spouse); 75-2-103 (Share of heirs other than surviving spouse); 75-2-107 (Kindred of half blood)
If a DIY will fits your situation in Utah
In Utah, 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 75-2-103(1): (a) decedent’s descendants, per capita at each generation; (b) if none, decedent’s parents equally, or surviving parent; (c) if none, descendants of decedent’s parents (siblings etc.), per capita at each generation; (d)-(e) if none, grandparents/their descendants, split half paternal/half maternal (or all to one side if the other side has no survivors); (f) if no taker above, descendants of a deceased spouse (or, if more than one deceased spouse, an equal share to each set of descendants).
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: Full share. Utah Code section 75-2-107: ‘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 Utah 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.