What happens to the estate if a decedent is not survived by a spouse or descendants?

When a decedent is not survived by a spouse or descendants, the estate typically passes to the decedent's ancestors and collateral relatives according to the laws of intestacy. Ancestors include parents and grandparents, while collateral relatives refer to siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. This distribution follows the priority set forth in the law, ensuring that the estate is allocated to blood relatives who have a legal claim to inherit.

This method of distribution recognizes the importance of family connections when a decedent has not left behind immediate family members. It ensures that the decedent's assets do not become unclaimed but instead go to relatives who are linked by blood and might have a significant emotional or financial interest in the estate.

In contrast, if an estate were to automatically go to the state, only distant relatives were considered, or the estate were divided among charities, those scenarios would not adhere to the typical legal framework of inheritance where closer relatives take precedence over distant ones or other parties. Thus, the correct understanding of who inherits under intestacy when there are no spouses or descendants leads to the conclusion that the estate is distributed to ancestors and collaterals.