Intestate Succession Act Calculator: Who Inherits Without a Will
Assets in the deceased's sole name (or share as tenant-in-common), after debts, funeral and administration costs.
Close family alive at the time of death
Includes children adopted by court order
Not counted while there are children
Their descendants share the portion that child would have had.
Brothers, sisters, grandparents, uncles and aunts only inherit when there is no spouse, no descendant and no parent, so they are not needed here.
How the estate is shared
Rules 2 and 3: the spouse takes half, and the children share the other half per stirpes.
- SpouseS$400,0001/2 of the estate
- Children2 people, 1/4 each (25.00%)S$200,000 each1/2 of the estate, S$400,000 in all
Outside the estate: CPF savings with a nomination go to the nominees, property or bank accounts held as joint tenants pass to the surviving owner, and insurance with a nomination goes to the nominees. CPF savings without a nomination are paid out by the Public Trustee to family under the same intestacy rules.
For non-Muslims only. A Muslim's estate is distributed under the Administration of Muslim Law Act (faraid), with an Inheritance Certificate from the Syariah Court. This is a guide to the statute, not legal advice: half-blood relatives, more than one wife, deaths within a family at the same time and disputes need a lawyer.
Spouse receives
S$400,000
- Spouse
- S$400,000
- Children (2)
- S$400,000
Section 7, Intestate Succession Act 1967. Not legal advice.
How this works
When a non-Muslim dies in Singapore without a valid will, section 7 of the Intestate Succession Act 1967 decides who inherits. A surviving spouse takes half if there are children, and the children share the other half. With no children but a parent alive, the spouse and the parents take half each. A spouse with no children and no parents takes everything.
Children share per stirpes: each child is one share, and if a child died first leaving children of their own, those descendants split that child's share between them. With no spouse, the children take the whole estate. Without spouse or descendants the parents take it, then brothers and sisters (children of a brother or sister who died first take that sibling's share), then grandparents, then uncles and aunts. If nobody qualifies, the estate goes to the Government.
The rules apply to the net estate: assets in the deceased's sole name, or their share held as tenants-in-common, after debts and costs. CPF savings with a nomination, property and accounts held as joint tenants, and insurance with a nomination pass outside the estate. The Act does not apply to Muslims, whose estates follow the Administration of Muslim Law Act. This tool follows the statute text on Singapore Statutes Online (checked October 2026) and is not legal advice.
FAQs
Who inherits if you die without a will in Singapore?
If you leave a spouse and children, your spouse gets 50% and your children share the other 50% equally. On an S$800,000 estate with two children, the spouse receives S$400,000 and each child S$200,000.
Does my spouse get everything if we have no children?
Only if both your parents have also died. If a parent is alive, your spouse gets 50% and your parents share the other 50%, so on S$600,000 the spouse receives S$300,000 and two parents S$150,000 each.
Do grandchildren inherit under the Intestate Succession Act?
Yes, if their parent (your child) died before you. They share the portion their parent would have received. With no spouse, one living child and one deceased child who left two children, the living child gets 50% and each grandchild 25%.
Is CPF distributed under the Intestate Succession Act?
CPF savings are not part of your estate and a will cannot cover them. With a CPF nomination they go to your nominees. Without one, the Public Trustee's Office distributes them to your family under the intestacy laws, for a fee.
Does the Intestate Succession Act apply to Muslims?
No. The Act states that it does not apply to the estate of any Muslim. A Muslim's estate is distributed under faraid through the Administration of Muslim Law Act, based on an Inheritance Certificate from the Syariah Court.