What Happens When You Die Without a Will? Mark Colgan, the founding partner of Montage Wealth and author of The Survivor Assistance Handbook and Death’s Red Tape, discusses what happens should you die without a will. In the legal world, if you die without a will, it’s called dying “intestate.” A local probate court then has to decide how to distribute your property. Intestate, or Intestacy, is what happens to an estate in the case an individual dies before creating a Will. Every state has their own established intestate process that determines whether a person’s assets will be given to their spouse, children, parents or siblings. When someone dies without a Will, their assets are frozen until the court system combs through every detail of their estate. The court then applies its state intestacy laws to make a decision regarding where a person’s possessions will be allocated This process can be time-consuming and exhausting for the surviving family members — but is easily avoidable. Watch this finStream video to learn what happens if you die without a will and what you can do or click this link to see more videos on Estate Planning: https://www.finstream.tv/videos/estate-planning/