What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Arkansas?

How intestacy works in Arkansas

When someone dies in Arkansas without a valid will, Ark. Code §28-9-201 et seq. (table of descents, §28-9-214). decides who inherits. The statute orders potential heirs by their relationship to the deceased — spouse and children first, then parents, then more distant relatives — and specifies exactly what share each one receives.

Arkansas is a common-law (separate property) state, so there is no community-property split; the shares above apply to the whole estate, subject to the surviving spouse's dower/curtesy and homestead rights.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse only (no children, no parents)

With no descendants and no parents, the surviving spouse takes the entire heritable estate — but only if the couple was continuously married at least three years. If married less than three years, the spouse takes 50% and the remainder passes to the decedent's more distant heirs (Ark. Code §28-9-214).

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse and children

This is the most common situation and where Arkansas’s rules get specific:

The children (and the descendants of any deceased child) inherit the entire heritable estate by representation. The surviving spouse takes no intestate share when descendants survive; the spouse instead receives dower or curtesy — a life estate in one-third of the decedent's real property and one-third of the personal property outright — plus homestead rights (Ark. Code §§28-9-214, 28-11-301 et seq.).

For families where everyone is from the same marriage, the spouse generally gets a meaningful share. For blended families — where one or more children are from a prior relationship — many states change the math substantially. If your situation might fit that, the section above is exactly the rule that applies.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse and parents (no children)

With no descendants: if the couple was married at least three years, the surviving spouse takes the entire estate and the parents receive nothing; if married less than three years, the spouse takes 50% and the decedent's surviving parents take the other 50%, sharing equally (Ark. Code §28-9-214).

What happens when there are children but no spouse

Entire heritable estate to the children equally; a deceased child's share passes to that child's descendants by representation (Ark. Code §28-9-214).

What happens when there’s no spouse and no children

Order after descendants and spouse: parents → brothers and sisters and their descendants → grandparents, uncles and aunts → great-grandparents, great-uncles and great-aunts → and, if no heir can be found, escheat to the county where the decedent resided at death (Ark. Code §§28-9-214, 28-9-215).

This is where intestacy starts producing results that often surprise people — distant relatives the deceased may not have been close to can end up inheriting, and a long-time unmarried partner inherits nothing.

A Arkansas-specific quirk

Arkansas still uses true dower and curtesy: when descendants survive, the intestacy table gives the children everything and the surviving spouse's protection comes separately as a one-third dower/curtesy interest (Ark. Code §28-11-301 et seq.). It also applies a three-year-marriage rule — a spouse married less than three years takes only half when there are no descendants.

What intestacy can’t do (and why it usually fails most people)

Even when Arkansas’s intestacy rules produce a result close to what someone would have chosen, the rules can never:

• Leave anything to an unmarried partner — intestacy doesn’t recognize unmarried partners regardless of relationship length
• Leave anything to a step-child you didn’t formally adopt
• Leave anything to a friend, charity, or specific person outside your family
• Name a guardian for your minor children — a Arkansas judge picks
• Specify who handles your estate — a court appoints an administrator
• Identify specific items for specific people
• Account for blended-family dynamics in nuanced ways
• Reduce probate costs and time — intestate estates still go through full probate

For most Arkansas families, a basic will — costing $300 to $1,500 with a local attorney, or $50 to $300 with an online service — is meaningfully better than the default rules.

What probate looks like in Arkansas when there’s no will

If someone dies intestate in Arkansas, the estate still goes through probate. A court appoints an administrator (rather than an “executor” — the title is different for intestacy) to:

1. Inventory the estate’s assets
2. Notify creditors and pay debts
3. Identify legal heirs under Arkansas’s intestacy statute
4. Distribute remaining assets to heirs according to the statute

For details on what probate costs and how long it takes in Arkansas, see:

• How Much Does Probate Cost in Arkansas?
• How Long Does Probate Take in Arkansas?
• How to Avoid Probate in Arkansas

What to do this week if you don’t have a will

The most useful single move for any Arkansas adult without a will:

1. Write a basic will. Either through an online service ($50-$300) or a local attorney ($300-$1,500). Name an executor, name a guardian for any minor children, and specify who inherits what.
2. Update beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and POD/TOD bank accounts. These pass outside both the will and intestacy.
3. Sign a financial power of attorney and a healthcare directive. These handle incapacity (not death) and prevent your family from needing court-appointed guardianship.

For a Arkansas family with a typical estate, this whole package usually costs under $1,500 and takes a couple of weeks of intermittent work. It’s substantially cheaper and less stressful than what happens if you don’t do it.

Related reading

• Do I Need a Will? — the honest decision
• How to Write a Will (and What Makes It Valid)
• What Is Probate?
• How to Avoid Probate
• Estate Planning Checklist
• Beneficiary Designations
• Power of Attorney Explained

---

This page explains Arkansas intestacy law in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal advice; intestacy provisions, dollar thresholds, and statute citations can change. Confirm current rules with a licensed Arkansas attorney before relying on this page. Sources: Ark. Code §28-9-214 (table of descents), Ark. Code §28-9-215 (devolution when estate does not fully pass), Ark. Code §28-11-301 (dower/curtesy when children survive), Ark. Code §28-11-307 (dower/curtesy when no children).