If you die without a will in Illinois, 755 ILCS 5/2-1 decides who inherits your property. Unlike some states, Illinois treats children from your marriage and children from an earlier relationship the same for the split. This intestate succession process follows a fixed order set by state law, not your wishes. See the Illinois estate planning guide for your options.
A signed will replaces this fixed formula with your own choices. Here is exactly how Illinois divides an estate with no will.
Key Takeaways
- 755 ILCS 5/2-1 splits your estate 50/50 between your spouse and your descendants whenever both survive you, regardless of which relationship produced the children.
- Your spouse inherits everything only if you have no surviving descendants.
- Descendants take their share per stirpes, meaning a deceased child's own children step into that child's branch of the family.
- With no surviving spouse or descendants, your estate passes to your parents, then siblings, then grandparents split evenly between the maternal and paternal sides.
Who Inherits Your Property in Illinois Without a Will?
Illinois's 755 ILCS 5/2-1, part of the Probate Act of 1975, sets a straightforward split once you know whether you have a surviving spouse, descendants, or both.
If You Have a Spouse and No Children
Your spouse inherits your entire estate when you have no surviving descendants.
If You Have a Spouse and Children You Share Together
Your spouse receives one-half of your estate, and your descendants divide the other half per stirpes.
If You Have a Spouse and Children From Another Relationship
The same 50/50 split applies. Illinois law does not give your spouse a larger or smaller share based on whether your children are also your spouse's children, so a blended family follows the identical formula as a family with only shared children.
If You Have Children and No Spouse
Your descendants inherit your entire estate per stirpes.
If You Have No Spouse and No Children
Your estate passes to your parents in equal shares. If neither survives, it passes to your siblings and their descendants per stirpes. With no siblings, the estate splits evenly between your maternal and paternal grandparents' family lines, and only escheats to the state of Illinois if no qualifying relative is found.
What Assets Skip Illinois Intestacy Entirely?
Not everything you own runs through Illinois's intestacy formula. Retirement accounts and life insurance policies with a named, living beneficiary pass directly to that person, regardless of what the intestacy statute says. Property you own jointly with a right of survivorship, and bank or brokerage accounts set up as payable-on-death or transfer-on-death, work the same way, passing straight to the surviving co-owner or named beneficiary outside of probate.
This matters because it means intestacy usually only decides what happens to the assets you never got around to titling or designating a beneficiary for, most often a primary residence, a car, or a checking account still in your name alone. For a lot of families, that leftover category still includes the family home, which is exactly why the distribution rules above matter as much as they do.
Worth checking now, before any of this becomes relevant: whether every account you hold actually lists a current beneficiary, and whether an old designation from a divorce or a relationship that ended years ago is still on file with the bank or insurance company. That single detail can override even a carefully written Illinois will, since a designated beneficiary is paid directly and never passes through the will at all.
What Does Dying Without a Will Actually Cost Your Family in Illinois?
A flat 50/50 split sounds simple, but it still requires an Illinois probate court to identify every descendant, confirm parentage where it is disputed, and value the estate before anyone actually receives a check. Real property in particular often needs to be sold or refinanced to divide a half-share in cash, which adds time most families would rather avoid. See how long Illinois probate takes for the realistic timeline.
For blended families, the fact that Illinois treats every child identically means a spouse of only a few years can end up sharing half the estate with adult children from a decades-old first marriage, exactly the outcome most people writing their own will would try to avoid or at least address deliberately.
How to Make Sure Your Wishes Control What Happens
A signed Illinois will replaces the 50/50 default with whatever split you actually want between your spouse and your children. See common Illinois will mistakes for the errors that most often get a homemade will challenged, and consider an Illinois living trust if avoiding Illinois probate court entirely, on top of directing who inherits, matters to your family.
Our guide on 5 reasons not to die without a will covers the broader risks of leaving your estate to intestacy.
FastWill's will package helps you put a valid Illinois will in place naming your own beneficiaries, instead of relying on a fixed statutory formula.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my spouse automatically inherit everything in Illinois if I die without a will?
Only if you have no surviving descendants. If you have children, your spouse receives half the estate and your children divide the other half, regardless of which relationship produced them.
What happens to my house if I die without a will in Illinois?
Your house is part of your estate and divided under the same 50/50 rule as the rest of your property when a spouse and descendants both survive you.
Do stepchildren inherit under Illinois intestacy law?
No, unless you legally adopted them. Only biological and legally adopted children count as descendants under Illinois intestacy law.
Can an unmarried partner inherit in Illinois without a will?
No. Illinois intestacy law does not recognize unmarried partners. A will or beneficiary designation is the only way to provide for a partner you are not legally married to.
How do I avoid Illinois's intestacy rules?
Sign a valid Illinois will or fund a living trust naming your own beneficiaries, so your own choices, not the 50/50 default, control your estate.
