Probate in New York: What Your Family Goes Through Without a Will

When someone dies without a will in New York, their assets are distributed under the state's intestate succession laws, and the estate typically goes through Surrogate's Court. Some assets skip probate entirely and pass directly to a co-owner or named beneficiary.

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Those exceptions include the following.

• Any life insurance policies that have a designated beneficiary listed.

• Any retirement accounts with a listed beneficiary.

• Any property held in joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety with a spouse.

• Any bank accounts where you have added a payable-on-death designation.

If none of those apply and the estate is small, New York offers a simplified process called Voluntary Administration. An estate qualifies if the personal property is worth $50,000 or less, not counting certain exempt property like a car up to $25,000 in value. Voluntary Administration only covers personal property; if the decedent owned real estate solely in their own name, the estate must go through full probate or administration regardless of value.

Succession Laws Without a Will in New York

New York treats all of a decedent's individually owned assets the same way regardless of when they were acquired during the marriage. If there is no will, the estate is distributed according to the following lines of succession under EPTL 4-1.1.

• If you are married with no children, your spouse inherits everything.

• If you have children but no living spouse, your children inherit everything in equal shares, including adopted children and children born outside marriage where paternity has been established.

• If you have no spouse and no children, your parents are next in line to inherit everything.

• If you have no spouse, no children, and no parents, your siblings inherit the estate.

• In the absence of those relatives, the state looks to more distant relatives, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

If you are married and have children, the estate is split between your spouse and your children.

• Your spouse inherits the first $50,000 of your intestate property, plus one-half of the balance.

• Your children inherit everything else, split equally among them.

If a probate proceeding becomes necessary, want to compare your options first? Compare what is included in a will and a trust.