About InheritByState

Who we are and how this reference is built.

InheritByState turns each state intestate succession statute into a clear table. The goal is simple: let a family see, in one place, who inherits when there is no will in any of the fifty states. Before this reference existed in one spot, a reader had to open fifty different codes or trust a single state summary that might not match their own.

We are not a law firm and we give no legal advice. The tables are a reference compiled from public probate codes and general summaries of intestacy law. They are written for readers who want a quick map of the rules, not a substitute for the statute or a lawyer. If your situation involves a real estate, a business, or a contested account, the table is only the start of the conversation.

The site is built as a static reference. There are no accounts to create, no forms to fill, and no calculators that store what you type. You read the table, you learn the pattern, and you confirm the detail with the source cited on each row. Nothing you do here is sent to a server for storage, because there is no server side to store it.

Intestacy law changes. Legislatures amend the shares, and courts interpret them in ways that vary by state. We review the summaries on a regular cycle and note the review year on each source line, but the reader should still check the current probate code for the state that matters. A summary is a snapshot, and snapshots age.

If you find a statute that has changed, the contact page explains how to report it. Corrections from readers who know a state current law make the reference more useful for everyone. The project improves most when a probate paralegal or attorney in a given state sends the section that moved. We credit nothing personal unless asked, and we act only after the change is confirmed against the code.

The reference covers all fifty states because families move and because an estate can touch more than one. A person might have lived in one state, owned land in another, and died in a third. The tables help you see which state rule likely applies, then point you to the exact code to read.