What Happens if You Die Without a Will in New York?
If you die without a will in New York, your closest relatives inherit your estate under the state's intestate succession laws, found in EPTL 4-1.1. How that gets split and who it goes to depends on your marital status and family relationships.
If You are Married with Children
Under New York law, your spouse does not automatically inherit everything when there are children.
- Your spouse inherits the first $50,000 of your intestate property, plus one-half of the balance.
- Your children inherit everything else, split among them in equal shares.
- If one of your children has already died and left children of their own, that grandchild inherits their parent's share.
If You are Married Without Children
Your spouse inherits all of your assets.
If You Don't Have a Spouse, but Have Children
Your children inherit everything in equal shares. This includes legally adopted children and children born outside marriage where paternity has been established, but stepchildren and foster children who were never legally adopted are not generally included.
If You Don't Have a Spouse or Children
Your assets pass to your parents. If no parents are still living, your siblings inherit in equal shares.
If No Living Relatives Can Be Found
If the court cannot locate any qualifying relative, including more distant kin like grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, or cousins, your property escheats to the State of New York. This is rare because New York's succession laws reach fairly distant relatives before the state takes anything.
Other Things to Know about Dying Without a Will in New York
- Half-relatives, such as a sibling who shares only one parent with you, inherit the same as full relatives.
- Grandchildren will only inherit if their parent (your child) has already died.
- Stepchildren and foster children generally do not inherit unless they were legally adopted.
- The Surrogate's Court will appoint an administrator to oversee the estate, with your spouse or adult children typically given priority to serve.
When Does an Estate Go Through Probate Without a Will
If your only assets are personal property (not real estate) and total $50,000 or less, your family may be able to use New York's simplified Voluntary Administration process instead of a full estate administration, which keeps you out of probate. If you own real estate in your own name, or the estate is worth more, a full Surrogate's Court proceeding is generally required.
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