What Happens to My Assets if I Die Without a Will in California?

If you pass away without a will or trust in California, your estate is distributed according to California's intestate succession laws — not your personal wishes.

How intestate succession works

California's default rules distribute assets based on your surviving relatives — typically a spouse, children, parents, or siblings — in a specific legal order. Community property and separate property are treated differently, which can create unexpected outcomes even for married couples.

The court oversees the entire process through probate — a public proceeding that typically takes 12–18 months and costs thousands of dollars in statutory fees before any assets are distributed.

What this means in practice

• A surviving spouse doesn't automatically inherit everything if there are also children from a prior relationship.
• Unmarried partners have no automatic inheritance rights at all under intestate succession.
• Friends, charities, or organizations you'd want to include receive nothing unless named in a valid document.
• The court, not your family, oversees the entire distribution process — which takes time and involves fees.

"Dying without a will doesn't mean your assets disappear. It means a court — not you — decides where they go."

How to avoid this outcome

A will or living trust lets you decide — in writing — who receives what, rather than leaving it to a legal formula that may not reflect your actual relationships or wishes.

A living trust goes further: assets titled in the trust's name bypass probate court entirely, keeping the process private and significantly faster for your family.

Don't forget beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance — these pass outside of both wills and trusts, directly to the named person, regardless of what any other document says.