What Happens When an Unmarried Partner Dies?- Unmarried partners create havoc for heirs when they don’t have an estate plan. A family confronting the early and unexpected death of their father has more to contend with than grief, as reported in a recent article from Moneywise, “Dad died without a will. Is his long-term girlfriend owed a piece of the estate? The Ramsey Show weighs in.”
Since there was no will, the court applied the state intestacy laws, which meant the father’s assets were distributed among his son, his brother and their half-sister. The father and girlfriend had been living together for two decades and were not married. The law states that unmarried partners have no legal rights to their deceased partner's estate.
The girlfriend is demanding money from the family, claiming she invested significant time and money in their home, which she believes entitles her to a share of the estate. The siblings plan to sell the house to pay off their father’s debts. In an act of generosity, the siblings have provided their late father’s girlfriend with housing, so she isn’t homeless, even though they have no legal obligation to do so.
This is the kind of messy situation that occurs when there is no estate plan. If a couple wants to commit to taking care of each other after death, they can either marry or have a professionally prepared estate plan.
When someone dies without a will, the laws of “intestate succession” come into play. Every state is different, but in most cases, the estate first goes to a spouse and children. If there is no spouse or children, the distribution proceeds by kinship to parents, siblings and then extended family members.
Another consideration for unmarried partners is how they own their home. If the home had been owned in Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship, the girlfriend would have owned the home outright upon the father's death. Without this protection in place, she has no legal claim to the house or any proceeds from its sale, regardless of how much time or money she has invested in it.
Some states may grant rights to common law partners, but most do not.
If there is a bad guy in this story, it’s not the children. The father could have used several estate-planning tools to protect his girlfriend, but he did not.
This family’s situation underscores the importance of having an estate plan in place. Whether you are a young parent, still working, planning for retirement, or retired, everyone needs an estate plan, regardless of age or life stage.
Schedule your phone consultation: THE LAW OFFICES OF CLAUDE S. SMITH, III
What Happens When an Unmarried Partner Dies?
Reference: Moneywise (Dec. 20, 2025) “Dad died without a will. Is his long-term girlfriend owed a piece of the estate? The Ramsey Show weighs in”
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