Missouri has a will for you if you don’t make one yourself. The order of inheritance is set by law, and it doesn’t change for the daughter who moves in to care for you, the stepchild you raise, or the partner you never marry.
A Surviving Spouse Rarely Inherits Everything
This is the part that often surprises people. If you leave no children or other descendants, your spouse will receive the entire estate. However, if there are any children, the estate will be divided differently.
- If all your children are your spouse’s children as well, your spouse will receive a fixed amount determined by law, plus half of the remainder. The children will then divide what is left.
- However, if even one child comes from an earlier relationship, your spouse’s share will drop to half of the estate. There will be no additional amount given.
Blended families find this hardest. A second spouse may end up co-owning a house with adult stepchildren who want to sell it.
Without a Spouse, Missouri Works Down a Family Ladder
Whatever does not pass to a spouse is divided among the closest surviving relatives on the list in equal parts:
- Children, or the descendants of a child who has died before the testator
- Parents, brothers, sisters, or their descendants
- Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and their descendants
- Great-grandparents, great-aunts, great-uncles, and more remote ancestors and their descendants
In Missouri, collateral relatives can inherit up to the ninth degree of kinship, as defined by civil law. If no qualified relatives exist, the property will go to the family of the predeceased spouse, before it escheats to the state. Such estates that end up in the hands of the state are relatively rare.
Missouri Defines “Child” Narrowly
Under Section 474.060, an adopted child inherits from the adopting parent and not from biological parents. There is one exception: adoption by a spouse of a biological parent does not sever that parent-child relationship. A child conceived prior to your death but born after inherits as if born during your lifetime.
Stepchildren and foster children who have not been legally adopted do not inherit anything under the intestate statute. Half-siblings do inherit, but they only receive half of what their whole siblings receive.
Three Rules That Catch Families Off Guard
The five-day rule for survival. An heir who does not outlive you for 120 hours is considered to have died first under Section 474.015. This applies in cases where a spouse or sibling dies a few days later.
Spousal misconduct. A spouse who abandons you without reasonable cause in the year before your death or who lives with someone else while committing adultery can be barred from inheriting completely. Voluntary reconciliation restores these rights.
Non-probate assets have their own rules. Life insurance policies, retirement accounts, property held jointly with survivorship rights, accounts payable on death, and Missouri beneficiary deeds all transfer to the named beneficiary. Intestacy laws never apply to these assets. An outdated beneficiary designation form can override what the law would otherwise provide.
The One-Year Deadline Is Real
Missouri courts will not issue letters of administration if no application is filed within one year of the death. If you miss that window, full estate administration becomes off the table, leaving heirs with fewer and more expensive options. Usually, family disagreement causes the delay. Someone thinks another relative is handling it. Months pass, and when the deadline arrives, nothing has been filed.
Get Ahead of the Statute While You Still Can
If the statutory order matches what you want, well-drafted wills and coordinated beneficiary designations will still make administration faster and cheaper for people you leave behind. If it doesn’t match, only a will or trust can change the result. Mark Harford Law helps Missouri families on both sides of this problem: putting documents in place before death, and guiding heirs through probate in Chesterfield and surrounding counties after death. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.