Who inherits if there is no will in New York?

The firm’s kinship page follows Chapter 17(B) of the N.Y.S. Consolidated Laws. A surviving spouse takes all if there are no children or grandchildren. If there are children, marital or non-marital, the spouse receives the first $50,000 plus one-half of the remaining estate, and the children take in equal shares.

After that come parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts and uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Rights usually end after first cousins, though a first cousin once removed may inherit in certain cases. If nobody comes forward, the State of New York keeps the proceeds.