If someone passes away without a valid will that covers all their assets, the remaining portions of their estate will go to their family members based on rules outlined in this legal section.

This section explains how a surviving spouse inherits from their deceased spouse's estate if the deceased didn't leave a will.

For community property, the surviving spouse gets the half that belonged to the deceased.

For quasi-community property, the surviving spouse also receives the deceased's half.

For separate property, the rules are a bit more complex: If there are no close surviving relatives, the spouse gets everything. If there's one child or parent, the spouse gets half. If there are more children or issue, the spouse receives one-third.

This law explains how a person's property is distributed if they die without a will and have no surviving spouse. The estate first goes to the decedent's children or descendants (issue). If there are none, it goes to the decedent's parents. If the parents are deceased, it goes to the descendants of the parents. If none of these relatives exist, the estate is given to the grandparents or their descendants. If no such relatives are found, it is distributed to the descendants of a deceased spouse. Finally, if none of these relatives exist, it goes to the decedent's closest relatives, prioritizing those related through the closest common ancestor. Each category is considered in turn until eligible relatives are found.

This law explains how a deceased person's property is passed on when they had a spouse who died earlier, and there's no surviving spouse or direct descendants. If the spouse died within 15 years for real estate or 5 years for personal property, the estate linked to the predeceased spouse goes to their surviving family. If there's no family left, it follows normal rules for inheritance. Personal property valued under $10,000 doesn't require notifying the predeceased spouse's family. This section also defines the property types involved, including concepts like community property and quasi-community property, and outlines how family relationships affect inheritance.

If someone doesn't outlive a deceased person (decedent) by at least 120 hours, they're considered to have passed away before the decedent for inheritance purposes. If it's not clear they made it past those 120 hours, it's assumed they didn't. This rule doesn't apply if it would mean the deceased's property ends up belonging to the state.

This rule also doesn't apply to situations involving deaths before January 1, 1990.

This law says that if someone dies without a will and there is no one eligible to inherit their estate, the property will go to the state. This process is called escheat and it's covered starting at Section 6800.

This law means that half-siblings, or relatives who share only one parent instead of both, are entitled to inherit the same amount as full siblings, or relatives who share both parents, unless there's a specific rule in Section 6451 that changes this.

If a relative of someone who has died was conceived before that person's death but born afterward, they are entitled to inherit as though they were born while the deceased was still alive.

If someone dies without a will, any gifts they gave during their lifetime to an heir can count as an early inheritance, reducing what the heir gets from the estate. For this to happen, two conditions can apply: the person who died stated in writing that it was an early inheritance; or the heir acknowledged in writing that it would count against their share.

The value of the gift is based on its worth when the heir first got it or when the person died, whichever is earlier. If a specific value was written when the gift was given, that value is final for dividing up the estate.

If the heir who received the gift dies before the person who gave it, the gift doesn't reduce what the heir's children might receive unless it was explicitly stated.

If someone owes money to a person who has died without a will, that debt doesn't reduce the share of the inheritance for anyone except the person who owes the debt. If the person who owes the debt dies before the person who loaned the money, that debt doesn't affect the inheritance share of the debtor's children or descendants.

This law states that someone can inherit property or assets even if they or their relatives aren't U.S. citizens. Citizenship or nationality status does not prevent someone from being an heir.

In California, the traditional concepts of dower and curtesy, which were legal rights granting a spouse a portion of a deceased spouse's property, are not recognized, except in circumstances outlined in Section 120.

If someone is related to a person who has died (the decedent) in more than one way, they will receive only one inheritance share. This share is based on the relationship that gives them the largest amount.

This law section describes how laws related to estates apply depending on when a person, known as the decedent, died. If the decedent passed away before January 1, 1985, older laws that were in effect at that time will still apply. However, Section 6412 is an exception and applies regardless of the date of death. Additionally, if certain legal sections (like Code of Civil Procedure Section 377 and Penal Code Section 3524) are being used for someone who died before 1985, references to the current law are to be understood as referring to the old laws that have since been repealed.