Who Inherits When Someone Dies Without a Will in NZ?

Dying without a will is called dying intestate. New Zealand law — the Administration Act 1969 — then decides who inherits, using a fixed formula. The deceased's wishes, however well known to the family, carry no legal weight.

The formula

The other common situations:

• Partner, no children, but surviving parents: the partner receives the chattels, the $155,000 legacy, and two-thirds of the remainder; the parents receive the other third.
• Partner only (no children, no surviving parents): the partner inherits everything.
• Children only (no partner): the children share everything equally. If a child has died before the parent, that child's own children take their share.
• No partner or children: parents inherit; if none, siblings; then grandparents and aunts/uncles, in a set order.
• No traceable family at all: the estate passes to the Crown.

A "partner" includes a spouse, civil union partner, or a de facto partner — but a de facto relationship generally needs to have lasted at least three years (or produced a child, or involve substantial contributions) to qualify. Short or informal relationships are where intestacy outcomes get contested.

Why the formula causes problems

The most common painful surprise: the family home. If the house was in the deceased's sole name, a surviving partner with children does not simply keep it. The house forms part of the estate to be divided by the formula — and if the children's two-thirds share can't be paid out otherwise, the house may need to be sold. (Jointly owned homes are different: they pass automatically to the surviving owner, outside the estate.)

Blended families are the other flashpoint. Children from a previous relationship inherit alongside the current partner, in fixed proportions neither side chose.

The partner's alternative: relationship property

A surviving partner can choose, instead of taking under the intestacy formula, to make a claim under the Property (Relationships) Act — broadly, claiming their half of the relationship property first. Which option is better depends entirely on the numbers, and there is a time limit. This is a genuine fork in the road where a partner should get legal advice before accepting anything.

Who runs the estate

With no will there's no executor, so the closest family member applies to the High Court for letters of administration — required whenever the estate exceeds $40,000 at one institution or includes solely owned land. The executor guide applies to administrators in the same way.

What to do next

Don't distribute anything informally, even within a harmonious family — an administrator who pays out other than per the formula is personally liable. Confirm there's truly no will, work out who has the right to apply, and get advice early if there's a partner and children, a sole-name home, or a blended family involved.