Loom resources · Queensland, Australia

What Happens When Someone Dies Without a Will in Queensland, Australia?

Dying without a valid will is called dying "intestate". In Queensland, the Succession Act 1981 sets out exactly who can inherit, in what order, and how the estate gets administered without an executor.

Reviewed21 September 2026

Queensland has a statutory order for intestacy — it isn't a free-for-all.

Who inherits depends on who survives, and how that survival is proven.

Somebody dies. There's no will. Now what?

In Queensland, "no what" is actually well defined. It's called dying intestate, and it's governed by the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) [1].

The Act doesn't leave it to guesswork, family opinion or who shouts loudest at the funeral.

It sets out a fixed order of who's entitled to inherit, and how much.

And it matters well beyond spouses and children — the order can reach parents, siblings, and further relatives too.

In three sentences

Who inherits?: Whoever the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) says is entitled — starting with a surviving spouse and children, then working down a fixed statutory order.
Who runs the estate?: An administrator appointed by the Supreme Court of Queensland via Letters of Administration, not an executor.
Is there a time limit that matters early on?: Yes — a relative generally must survive the intestate by 30 days to inherit their share.

Quick answers

Queensland intestacy: quick answers

It depends on who survives them. A surviving spouse and children have first priority under the Succession Act 1981 (Qld), followed by parents, then siblings, then further relatives in a set order set out in Schedule 2.

Yes, in most cases. Queensland's definition of "spouse" for intestacy purposes can include a de facto partner, generally where the couple lived together as a couple on a genuine domestic basis for a continuous period of at least two years, or in certain other circumstances recognised by the Act.

Under section 35(2) of the Succession Act 1981, a person who does not survive the intestate by at least 30 days is treated as if they died before the intestate. Their share passes as though they were never there.

There is no executor, so someone entitled to a share of the estate — usually the closest surviving relative — applies to the Supreme Court of Queensland for a grant of Letters of Administration, becoming the estate's administrator.

The Act works through an ordered list of next of kin — parents, siblings, grandparents, and relatives such as aunts, uncles and cousins. If genuinely nobody entitled can be found, the estate can ultimately pass to the State of Queensland as bona vacantia.

Not always. Family members can apply for Letters of Administration themselves. The Public Trustee of Queensland may become involved where no suitable family member applies, or in certain smaller or unrepresented estates.

Who inherits, and in what order

Schedule 2 of the Succession Act 1981 sets out how a residuary estate is distributed on intestacy[2]. Broadly, it works through a ladder — each rung only matters if nobody in the rungs above survived.

1. Spouse and children — spouse (including an eligible de facto partner) and children have first priority, sharing the estate as set out in Schedule 2.
2. Parents — where there's no surviving spouse or children.
3. Siblings (and their children) — a deceased sibling's children can take that branch's share.
4. Grandparents
5. Aunts, uncles and cousins — through the intestate's parents' families.
6. The State of Queensland — only if no entitled relative can genuinely be found.

Here's roughly how the money splits when there is a spouse and children:

Spouse, one child: spouse takes $150,000 plus household chattels, plus half of what's left. The child takes the other half.

Spouse, more than one child: spouse takes $150,000 plus household chattels, plus a third of what's left. The children share the remaining two-thirds between them.

Spouse, no children: the spouse takes the whole residuary estate.

Figures per Schedule 2 [2].

What if there's no spouse or children at all?

Then the ladder keeps going.

Parents come next. Then siblings — and if a sibling died before the intestate, their children can potentially take that branch's share. After that, grandparents, then aunts, uncles and cousins through the intestate's parents' families.

Section 35(1A) specifically defines who counts as the intestate's "next of kin" for these more distant categories [3].

If genuinely nobody entitled can be found after all of that, the estate can ultimately pass to the State of Queensland.

Real Queensland example

Over 2 years~25 family branches20 cousins

One of the Public Trustee's own published examples involved John, who was single, had never married and had no children. His will left his substantial estate to his mother — but she died before him, and the will was never updated [6].

The Public Trustee then carried out extensive searches of John's maternal and paternal family trees. That search took over two years, involved finding around 25 family branches, and ended with 20 elderly cousins receiving varying shares of the estate. Some cousins died during the administration, which complicated things further — and only a few of the beneficiaries had actually known John.

To be clear: this isn't a died-without-a-will example. John had a will — it simply pointed to someone who had already died. But it shows what estate administration can look like when it has to work through extended family relationships, and it's exactly the kind of mapping the intestacy ladder above depends on.

First cousins may be the legal boundary. Finding all of those first cousins can still mean mapping a surprisingly large family tree.

The 30-day survivorship rule

This is one of the parts people miss.

Under section 35(2) of the Succession Act 1981, a person entitled to a share of the residuary estate must survive the intestate by at least 30 days[3].

If they don't, they're treated as though they died before the intestate.

Their share doesn't sit with their own estate. It moves on to the next person entitled, exactly as if that person had never survived at all.

This matters most where deaths happen close together — for example, a couple involved in the same accident, or an elderly parent and child passing within weeks of each other.

The 30-day survivorship rule, in short

Intestate dies

Did the relative survive 30+ days?

Share is decided

Yes

They can inherit their share as normal

Treated as if they died first — share passes on

Administrator & Letters of Administration

With a will, there's an executor. Without one, there isn't.

So someone who is entitled to share in the estate — usually the closest surviving relative — applies to the Supreme Court of Queensland for a grant called Letters of Administration[4].

Once granted, that person becomes the estate's administrator, with broadly the same practical job an executor would otherwise do:

Locate

Identify assets, debts and entitled relatives

Apply

Obtain the grant of Letters of Administration

Distribute

Pay debts, then distribute under Schedule 2

Where no suitable family member applies, or in certain smaller or unrepresented estates, the Public Trustee of Queensland may become involved[4]. The Public Trustee Act 1978 also allows the Public Trustee to pay small residues, or residues where no other next of kin can be traced after three years, directly to a surviving spouse in some circumstances [5].

A practical checklist

Confirm there really is no valid will, including checking with the Public Trustee and any solicitors the person used.
Work out who survived the intestate, and for how long — the 30-day rule can change the outcome.
Map the actual family relationships. Don't rely on surnames or assumptions about who counts as "close family".
Identify who has priority to apply for Letters of Administration.
Gather evidence of relationships — birth, death and marriage records, and evidence of a de facto relationship if relevant.
Apply to the Supreme Court of Queensland for the grant, then administer the estate under Schedule 2.

Why we built Loom

People spend years building family trees.

They find great-great-grandparents. Untangle maiden names. Discover whole branches nobody in the family remembered existed.

And then that carefully built map of the family mostly just sits there.

Loom lets you bring the family tree you've already built, understand the relationships within it, and see where those relationships could matter — including in intestacy questions like this one.

To be clear about what Loom is and isn't:

Loom does not give legal advice, determine legal entitlement under the Succession Act 1981, or file anything with the Supreme Court of Queensland on your behalf.

It helps you see the family connections clearly. What you do with that is up to you — ideally with a solicitor once real money is involved.

Related Loom guides

Found unclaimed money for a deceased relative in Queensland? — who can claim it, and where approved money goes.

Browse all Loom resources — more plain-English guides to intestacy, unclaimed estates and family research.

Family roots overseas?

Family originally from the UK?

Queensland rules only apply to Queensland. If part of your family came from England or Wales, there may also be separate records worth checking there — under their own, different rules.

England & Wales: What is Bona Vacantia?

England & Wales: How to check the Bona Vacantia list

England & Wales: Could you be entitled to an unclaimed estate?

England & Wales: How to claim an unclaimed estate

Put the tree to work

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Put it to work.

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Loom identifies potential connections. It does not establish legal entitlement, guarantee inheritance, file claims or prove a relationship.

Official sources

Quick answers

Queensland intestacy: quick answers

Who inherits if someone dies without a will in Queensland?

Does a de facto partner count as a spouse in Queensland?

What is the 30-day survivorship rule?

Who administers an estate with no will?

What if there is no spouse, children or close relatives?

Does the Public Trustee always deal with intestate estates?