Articles — Wills & Estates

What happens when someone dies without a will in New Zealand?

By Hamish Senior, Harmony Law Limited, Tauranga · July 2026

When someone dies without a will, the law calls it dying intestate. It is more common than people expect, and for the family left behind it usually means more paperwork, more delay, and sometimes a result the deceased would never have chosen. This article explains what happens, who inherits, and what the family needs to do.

I am a Tauranga lawyer and I help families through this process. If you are dealing with the estate of someone who died without a will, feel free to get in touch.

Who sorts out the estate when there is no will?

With a will, the executor named in it applies to the High Court for probate — confirmation of their authority to deal with the estate.

Without a will, there is no executor. Someone — usually the surviving spouse or partner, or an adult child — must apply to the High Court to be appointed administrator of the estate. The court order is called letters of administration. Once granted, the administrator has much the same job as an executor: gather in the assets, pay the debts, and distribute what is left to the people entitled to it.

The application is made under the Administration Act 1969. It is a paper-based application — there is usually no court hearing — but the documents must be right, and the applicant must be the person with the best claim to be appointed under the rules of priority.

Do you always need letters of administration?

Not always. If the estate is small, the banks and other institutions holding the money can often release it without a grant. Since 24 September 2025, banks, KiwiSaver providers, insurers, employers and similar institutions can each release up to $40,000 held with them without requiring letters of administration — a threshold raised from the $15,000 that had applied for many years. (Lower limits still apply to a few asset types, such as company shares and government stock.) So an estate made up of, say, a modest bank account and some personal belongings may be able to be dealt with informally.

If the deceased owned a house or land, or held more than the threshold with any one institution, a grant will almost always be needed.

Who inherits when there is no will?

This is where intestacy surprises people. The estate does not simply go to "the family" to sort out — the Administration Act sets out a fixed formula. In broad terms:

• Spouse or partner, and children: the spouse or partner receives the personal chattels (car, furniture, personal effects), a statutory legacy (a prescribed amount — currently $155,000) plus interest, and one third of what remains. The children share the other two thirds.
• Spouse or partner, no children, but surviving parents: the spouse or partner receives the chattels, the prescribed amount, and two thirds of the remainder; the parents receive the other third.
• Spouse or partner only: the spouse or partner takes the whole estate.
• Children but no spouse or partner: the children share the whole estate equally.
• No spouse, partner or children: the estate passes to parents, then siblings, then wider family, in a set order.

Two things stand out. First, a surviving spouse or partner does not automatically receive everything if there are children — even young children from the same relationship. Second, de facto partners qualify, but there can be real argument about whether a relationship meets the legal test, which adds cost and stress at the worst possible time.

Common complications

In my experience the difficult intestacies tend to involve one or more of these:

• Blended families — a second partner and children from a first relationship, whose interests under the formula compete directly.
• Separated but not divorced — a legally married spouse may still have entitlements even after years apart.
• The family home owned jointly — jointly owned property passes to the survivor outside the estate, which can dramatically change who ends up with what.
• No obvious administrator — family members with equal priority who do not agree on who should apply.

What should the family do first?

1. Look hard for a will. Check with the deceased's lawyer, their bank, and the major will registries. Many "intestacies" turn out to have a will after all.
2. Secure the assets. Notify the banks, KiwiSaver provider and insurers of the death.
3. Work out the estate's size. This determines whether letters of administration are needed at all.
4. Take advice early — before anyone starts distributing property. An administrator who pays out to the wrong people can be personally liable.

The simplest fix: make a will

Everything above is avoidable with a straightforward will. A will lets you choose who administers your estate and who inherits — instead of leaving it to a statutory formula written for the average case. If reading this has reminded you that you (or your parents) have been putting it off, that is the easiest problem I solve all week.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Every estate is different — please get advice on your own situation. Figures stated (the $40,000 payment-without-administration threshold and the $155,000 prescribed amount) are current at July 2026.