If you die without a will in Virginia, Virginia Code Section 64.2-200 decides who inherits, turning on whether all your surviving children are also your spouse's children, since a spouse can otherwise end up with only a third of the estate. This intestate succession process follows state law. See the Virginia estate planning guide for your options.
A signed will replaces this formula with your own instructions. Here is exactly how Virginia divides an estate with no will.
Key Takeaways
- Virginia Code Section 64.2-200 gives your spouse the entire estate if every surviving child is also a child of that spouse.
- If you have one or more children from another relationship, your spouse's share drops to one-third, with two-thirds going to your children and their descendants.
- Half-blood relatives, such as a half-sibling, inherit half of what a full-blood relative in the same position would receive.
- With no surviving spouse or children, your estate passes to your parents, then siblings, then a long list of more distant relatives before escheating to the state.
Who Inherits Your Property in Virginia Without a Will?
Virginia's Virginia Code Section 64.2-200 draws a sharp line based on whether every one of your surviving children is also a child of your surviving spouse.
If You Have a Spouse and No Children
Your spouse inherits your entire estate when you have no surviving children or other descendants.
If You Have a Spouse and Children You Share Together
If all of your surviving children are also children of your surviving spouse, your spouse inherits your entire estate.
If You Have a Spouse and Children From Another Relationship
If one or more of your surviving children or descendants is not also a child of your surviving spouse, two-thirds of your estate passes to your children and their descendants, and one-third passes to your spouse.
If You Have Children and No Spouse
Your children and their descendants inherit your entire estate.
If You Have No Spouse and No Children
Your estate passes to your parents. If neither survives, it passes to your siblings and their descendants, then to a longer list including grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins of any degree. A relative related to you through only one parent, a half-sibling for example, inherits half of what a full-blood relative in the same position would receive.
What Assets Skip Virginia Intestacy Entirely?
Not everything you own runs through Virginia'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 Virginia 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 Virginia?
The one-third and two-thirds split for blended families is not a rounding error. It means a surviving spouse in a second marriage with stepchildren they never legally adopted keeps only a third of the estate they may have spent decades building alongside their spouse, while the decedent's children from an earlier relationship take the rest. Sorting that out, and valuing the estate to apply the split, runs through Virginia's circuit court probate process. See how long Virginia probate takes for what that timeline looks like.
Half-blood relatives inheriting at half the rate of full-blood relatives is another rule most people do not know applies until it directly affects their own family.
How to Make Sure Your Wishes Control What Happens
A signed Virginia will overrides the one-third and two-thirds split entirely, letting you decide exactly what your spouse and children each receive. See write a valid will in Virginia for Virginia's execution requirements, and common Virginia will mistakes for the errors that most often get a homemade will challenged.
Our guide on 5 reasons not to die without a will lays out the broader case for having a will in place.
FastWill's will package helps you build a valid Virginia will naming your own beneficiaries, instead of relying on a fixed statutory formula.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my spouse automatically inherit everything in Virginia if I die without a will?
Only if every one of your surviving children is also a child of that spouse, or if you have no surviving children at all. If you have a child from another relationship, your spouse's share drops to one-third.
What happens to my house if I die without a will in Virginia?
Your house is part of your estate and divided under the same one-third and two-thirds rule as the rest of your property when children from another relationship survive you.
Do stepchildren inherit under Virginia intestacy law?
No, unless you legally adopted them. Only biological and legally adopted children count as your descendants under Virginia intestacy law.
Can an unmarried partner inherit in Virginia without a will?
No. Virginia 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 Virginia's intestacy rules?
Sign a valid Virginia will or fund a living trust naming your own beneficiaries, so your own choices, not the one-third and two-thirds default, control your estate.
