When a California resident dies without a will, Probate Code Section 6402 sets the intestate succession order for everything that does not pass to a surviving spouse. The property moves down a fixed ladder: first to children and their descendants; then to parents; then to siblings and their descendants; then to grandparents and their descendants; then to the children of a predeceased spouse; then to the nearest other blood relatives; and finally to the parents of a predeceased spouse or their descendants. Only when every tier is empty does the estate escheat to the state.
What the Spouse Takes Before Section 6402 Applies
Section 6402 governs the share that is left after the surviving spouse’s portion is carved out under Section 6401. The two statutes work together, so the spouse’s share has to be settled first.
All community property and quasi-community property goes to the surviving spouse. The decedent’s half joins the spouse’s half, and the spouse ends up with the whole.1California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6401
Separate property is split based on who else survives:
- No children, parents, or siblings survive: the spouse takes all of the separate property.
- One child survives (or the descendants of one deceased child), or no children but a parent or sibling survives: the spouse takes one-half.
- More than one child survives, or one child plus the descendants of a deceased child, or the descendants of two or more deceased children: the spouse takes one-third.
Whatever separate property the spouse does not receive, together with the entire estate when there is no surviving spouse, drops into the Section 6402 ladder.1California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6401
First: Children, Grandchildren, and Further Descendants
Section 6402(a) sends the estate first to the decedent’s issue — children, grandchildren, and every generation below. If all of the surviving descendants stand in the same generation, such as three living children with no deceased children, they split the estate equally.2California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6402
When descendants are spread across generations, California uses the “per capita at each generation” method in Probate Code 240. The estate is first divided into equal shares at the closest generation that has at least one living member. Every living person in that generation takes one share. The shares that would have gone to deceased members of that generation are pooled and split equally among the living descendants of those deceased members at the next generation down. The process repeats until nothing is left to allocate.3California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 240
This is not per stirpes. Under per stirpes, each family branch stays in its own lane and grandchildren inherit only what their parent would have taken. California pools the deceased members’ shares first and then redistributes, which can equalize what grandchildren in different branches receive.
Half-Blood Relatives
Half-siblings and other relatives who share only one parent with the decedent inherit the same share as full-blood relatives. California does not cut their portion.4California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6406
Children Born After Death
A child conceived before the parent’s death but born afterward inherits as if born during the parent’s lifetime. A child conceived after death through assisted reproduction can also inherit, but only if the decedent left a signed, dated writing authorizing use of their genetic material, a designated person notifies the estate representative within four months of death, and the child is in utero within two years of the date of death.5California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 249.5
Second: Parents
If no descendants survive, the estate passes to the decedent’s parents in equal shares. If only one parent is living, that parent takes the whole thing.2California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6402 Adoptive parents inherit on the same footing as biological parents. The probate court confirms the relationship through birth certificates, adoption records, or similar official documents.
Third: Siblings and Their Descendants
With no descendants and no living parent, Section 6402(c) hands the estate to the decedent’s siblings and to the descendants of any sibling who has died. Living siblings at the same generational level take equal shares. A deceased sibling’s share drops down to that sibling’s children or further descendants under the same per capita at each generation rule used for descendants of the decedent.2California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6402
Half-siblings are included here and inherit the same share as full siblings.4California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6406 The personal representative has to identify and notify every one of them. Missing an heir can cause the court to set aside its earlier distribution orders.
Fourth: Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins
Section 6402(d) kicks in when no descendant, parent, or sibling (or sibling’s descendant) is left. The estate goes to the decedent’s grandparents in equal shares. If no grandparent survives, it passes to the grandparents’ descendants — the decedent’s aunts, uncles, and cousins — again using per capita at each generation.2California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6402
There is no automatic 50/50 split between the maternal and paternal sides at the grandparent level. All surviving grandparents share equally. If three grandparents are alive, each takes one-third regardless of which side they come from. The maternal and paternal distinction only becomes relevant once the estate drops to the grandparents’ descendants and the per capita rules apportion shares across all living descendants at the nearest generation.
Fifth: Children of a Predeceased Spouse
If the search for blood relatives through the grandparent line comes up empty, Section 6402(e) directs the estate to the children and grandchildren of a predeceased spouse. These are typically stepchildren the decedent never formally adopted.2California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6402
“Predeceased spouse” has a specific legal meaning. A former spouse who divorced or annulled the marriage before the decedent’s death generally does not qualify. The provision is written for a spouse who died while married to the decedent, where the decedent then never remarried.
Sixth: Nearest Other Relatives by Degree
Section 6402(f) sweeps in the broadest category. If no one in any of the higher groups is alive, the estate goes to the decedent’s nearest relative by degree of kinship. Degree is counted by stepping up to the closest common ancestor and back down to the claimant. When two relatives are equally distant, the one who traces through a closer common ancestor takes priority.2California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6402
Reaching this tier is uncommon. It usually involves a decedent with no close family left, where second cousins or great-aunts turn out to be the nearest living relatives. Identifying everyone at this level sometimes requires professional genealogy work, and the cost of that search is paid from the estate before any distribution.
Seventh: Parents of a Predeceased Spouse
The last stop before the state is Section 6402(g). If there is no next of kin and no issue of a predeceased spouse, the estate passes to the parents of a predeceased spouse. If both of those parents are dead, it drops to their descendants — the siblings, nieces, and nephews of the late spouse.2California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6402 Proving the chain usually requires marriage certificates, death certificates, and documentation of the earlier spousal relationship.
Escheat to the State
When every tier of Section 6402 is exhausted and no qualifying heir surfaces, the estate escheats to the State of California. Under Probate Code 6800, the property belongs to the state from the moment of death, though the formal transfer runs through the probate proceeding.6California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 6800
Escheat is not always final. An heir who appears later can petition to recover the property, though the odds get worse as time passes. Escheated property is held through the State Controller’s Office, and anyone who believes they have a valid claim should move quickly.
What Section 6402 Does Not Reach
The 6402 ladder only applies to assets that actually pass through probate. Several categories transfer automatically, outside probate, and the intestacy order has no effect on them:
- Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship goes directly to the surviving co-owner.
- Life insurance, 401(k) plans, IRAs, and annuities pass to the named beneficiary.
- Bank, brokerage, and securities accounts with a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designation pass to the named person.
- Assets held in a revocable living trust pass under the terms of the trust.
The practical consequence is that the people who inherit under Section 6402 may not be the people who end up with most of the wealth. A life insurance beneficiary designation made years earlier controls that payout no matter what the intestacy statute says. Beneficiary designations and survivorship titles override the ladder entirely.