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What happens when you die with without a will?

If you die without a will, your property will be transferred through a process called intestate succession. This is how the government believes that the average person would have transferred their property. There is no guarantee that this will be how you would have transferred your property.

Under intestate succession, your property goes to family members, including any descendants. This means that in addition to your spouse or children, other family members like parents, siblings, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles may also be eligible to receive assets. If you do not have any living relatives to distribute your assets to, the assets will go to the state. A complete chart of how your property would transfer can be found at NOLO.

In most cases, if you pass away without a will, all or the majority of your estate will pass to your spouse and the remainder will be divided between your parents or any direct descendants. If you do not have a spouse, your estate will usually go to your children.

It is important to create a will. The cost is minimal but doing so can avoid considerable hassle after you are gone and will save you money if your estate is probated.  Wills, trusts, or powers of attorney should not only be put in place but be updated periodically to reflect life changes such as births, deaths, and marriages.

If you have any questions or need any assistance with estate planning, please contact me at (630) 220-6251 or at

Douglas Miller