What actually happens to my stuff if I die without a will?

What estate planning law firms need to publish

The default outcome without a will is a specific, state-determined formula that almost never matches what the person would have actually wanted.

How customers actually ask it

The same intent arrives in wording your page probably does not use. All of these mean the same thing:

“What actually happens to my stuff if I die without a will?”
“dying without a will consequences”
“intestate succession”
“what happens without an estate plan”

What a complete answer contains

For estate planning law firms specifically, an answer is only complete when it covers all 5:

1
That state intestate succession law, not personal wishes, determines distribution with no will
2
A concrete example of how that formula can produce an unintended outcome, especially for unmarried couples or blended families
3
Who is appointed guardian for minor children if there is no will naming one
4
That probate still happens without a will, it is simply less controlled
5
The cost and time comparison between planned distribution and intestate probate

A worked example

Illustrative — not a real business

Without a will, your state's intestate succession statute decides who inherits, in a fixed formula that has nothing to do with your actual relationships or wishes — a surviving spouse might only receive a portion of the estate with the rest automatically going to children, or in the case of an unmarried couple, a long-term partner may receive nothing at all under most state laws, no matter how long you were together. If you have minor children and no will naming a guardian, a court decides who raises them, based on its own judgment of the child's best interest rather than your preference — this is often the single most important reason parents finally get a will done. Your estate still goes through probate either way; without a will, the process is simply governed entirely by statute rather than your instructions, and it often takes longer because there is more for the court to sort out. The cost of a basic will is small compared to what a family can spend resolving an intestate estate in court.

Which page should own it

Intestate succession and dying without a will page

What silence costs

This is the fear that finally moves procrastinating clients to book, and a plain explanation of the default outcome is what makes the risk concrete.

Does your site answer this already?

Point RubyRep at your website and ask it this exact question. If it cannot answer, neither can your customers.