The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Texas?

Published June 3, 2026 4 min read

Quick answer

If a married Texan with kids from the current marriage only dies without a will, the spouse keeps all community property. If any child is from a prior relationship, the decedent's half of community property goes to the kids — meaning a surviving spouse can end up co-owning the house with stepchildren.

Educational guide — not legal advice. Intestacy laws change. Confirm specifics with a licensed Texas attorney before relying on this page.

How intestacy works in Texas

When someone dies in Texas without a valid will, Tex. Est. Code §201.001 et seq. 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.

Texas is a community property state. Community property goes entirely to the spouse only if all children are also the spouse's children — otherwise the decedent's half goes to the children, which is the classic 'blended-family trap.'

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

Spouse takes all community property and all personal separate property; spouse takes 1/2 of separate real property in fee. If no parents, siblings, or descendants of siblings survive, spouse takes the entire estate.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse and children

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

Community property: if all of the decedent's children are also the surviving spouse's children, spouse takes all community property; if any child is from a different relationship, the decedent's 1/2 of community property passes to the children. Separate property: spouse gets 1/3 of personal property plus a life estate in 1/3 of real property; children take the remaining 2/3 of personal property and the remainder interest in the real property.

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)

All community property to spouse. Separate personal property: all to spouse. Separate real property: spouse takes 1/2; the other 1/2 passes to parents and siblings.

What happens when there are children but no spouse

Entire estate to children and their descendants per capita with representation.

What happens when there’s no spouse and no children

Order: both parents equally (or surviving parent takes 1/2 with siblings sharing 1/2) → siblings and their descendants → grandparents (split paternal/maternal moieties) → further kindred.

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 Texas-specific quirk

The surviving spouse only gets a life estate (not fee simple) in 1/3 of separate real property when children survive — the kids take the remainder interest. Texas also recognizes informal/common-law marriage for spousal-share purposes.

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

Even when Texas’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 Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas when there’s no will

If someone dies intestate in Texas, 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 Texas’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 Texas, see:

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

The most useful single move for any Texas 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 Texas 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.

This page explains Texas 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 Texas attorney before relying on this page. Sources: Tex. Est. Code §201.001, Tex. Est. Code §201.002, Tex. Est. Code §201.003.

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