Nobody wants to think about dying. But as I wrote about in an earlier post, it’s super-important to make sure you have a will in place before you do, even if you’re young. Otherwise, things may not play out the way you thought they would. In that earlier post, I outlined why it’s so important to have a will, but was a little light on details around what happens if you don’t. Here are a few examples of how things could play out in that scenario.

Where you live matters.

The exact rules around what happens when you die without a will – also known as dying intestate, by the way – depend heavily on where you live. Different countries and provinces have different rules about this, and so I can’t give you all of the specifics in this post; you’ll need to research it more on your own. I’ll share some resources at the bottom of this post, for this who live in North America.

Who distributes your estate?

Often, someone will have to apply through the court system to become the administrator of your estate, which can take some time (and sometimes a lot of time). If nobody steps up, the court will need to appoint someone to take care of your estate, which may not be the person you would have chosen.

What happens to your kids?

If you don’t have a will, chances are you didn’t formally name a guardian for your kids. In this case, again, the courts will decide who takes on the role of guardian, and it may not be who you would have wanted. Hell, it may not even be something they wanted, in which case you’ve just created an incredible burden for someone against their will.

This one is especially important, given the courts may not factor in things like religious beliefs and other important variables when selecting someone to act as guardian. If you have kids, this might be the single most important reason you create a will.

Who gets your estate without a will?

Ah, now we get to the meat and potatoes.

This is where the law differs from region to region, and you’ll need to read up on how things work where you live. However, let me give you some example of how things could play out if you die without a will:

• If you had kids, then got divorced and remarried, your new spouse could get your entire estate when you die, even though they have no blood relation to your kids.
• If you have a spouse and kids when you die, your spouse might get way less than you intended, with the majority of your estate going to your children
• Your siblings could wind up getting a share of your estate, even if you’re married
• Your pets may be treated as “property” and get passed along with your savings and investments – not according to who would be the best caretaker
• Any charities you were supporting in life would likely be completely out of luck in terms of donations after you die
• Your kids could wind up under the care of someone with different views than your own… or in extreme cases, in foster care, should no family guardian step up

If you live in Canada, this article by Willful does a great job of breaking out how your estate will be divided up if you die without a will.

If you live in the US, this page can serve as a starting point. It looks like there’s no one page that will have all the answers, though; you’re going to need to research your state’s website to get the specific details that are relevant for your area.

Wrapping it Up

If nothing else, I hope this post shows you how frikkin’ complicated dividing up your estate can be if you die without a will. Having a will removes all of this uncertainty, and simplifies things at a time when the last things your surviving loved ones need is a headache in addition to the heartache of losing you.

You don’t need to use an expensive lawyer to draft a will anymore; there are online tools that will help you create a legal will for a fraction of the cost. Just whatever you do, don’t bury your head in the sand and pretend everything will be ok if you die… odds are, it won’t play out like you’d hope.