What happens when a person dies without a will?

Many people believe that if someone dies without a will, all of his or her belongings automatically pass to the government, and not to his or her loved ones. This popular myth is simply untrue. The truth is that when someone dies without a will, the deceased person’s property passes according to a statutory scheme referred to as intestate succession. The purpose of intestate succession is to allow the probate court to oversee the distribution of a deceased person’s assets in a uniform manner that best represents what the average person would have designed had they created a will. The Superior Courts in the state of California recognize intestate succession for the benefit of certain relatives. To accomplish this purpose, the California state legislature has developed an objective set of probate laws to distribute a deceased person’s property in the absence of a valid will. In general, the persons protected or benefited by California intestate statutes include: Persons related to the ...  more