What happens if you die without a will?

‍The consequences of dying without a Will in New Zealand
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When someone passes away without a will, it is referred to as dying intestate. In such cases, the distribution of assets will depend on the deceased person's family circumstances. To make this more personal and to emphasize why it is important to have a Will, we will refer to the deceased as “You” in the below examples.

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If you have a spouse or partner but no parents or children

The spouse or partner will receive the entire estate. However, if there are children involved, the spouse or partner will receive the personal effects (such as furniture, paintings, and homeware), $155,000 (with interest from the date of death), and one-third of the remaining assets. The children will receive the remaining two-thirds, divided equally among them.

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If you have stepchildren or a blended family 

This situation is more complex. Whether stepchildren are entitled to inherit from the estate will depend on factors such as their age, relationship to the deceased, and financial reliance on the deceased. You will need to speak with an intestacy legal expert to fully understand the stepchildren's entitlements.

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If you have a spouse or partner and parents but no children

The spouse or partner will receive the personal effects, $155,000 (with interest from the date of death), and two-thirds of the remaining assets. The deceased's parents will receive the remaining third, divided equally between them.

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If you have children but no spouse or partner

the children will inherit the entire estate, divided equally among them.

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If you have no spouse or partner, no children, but surviving parents

The entire estate will be divided equally between the parent or parents.

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If you have no spouse or partner, no children, and no surviving parents, but surviving siblings

The entire estate will be divided equally between the siblings.

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