Who Inherits if There Is No Will? (Non-Muslims)

See who gets what share of an estate under Singapore's intestacy rules when a non-Muslim dies without a will.

Family Left Behind

Leaves a husband or wife

Children aliveInclude children adopted by court order. The Act counts legitimate and legally adopted children.

Children who died earlier, leaving childrenOptional. Their own children share the portion that child would have taken. Leave out a child who died with no children.

Children each of them left (optional)If the families differ in size, leave at 0 to see the share for each family.

Parents alive

Brothers and sisters aliveFull brothers and sisters. Half-brothers and half-sisters rank after them under the Act, so count them only if there are no full siblings.

Brothers and sisters who died earlier, leaving childrenOptional. Only matters if there is no spouse, no children and no parents. Their children share that sibling's portion.

Grandparents alive

Uncles and aunts aliveOnly counted if there are no grandparents.

The Estate

Estate value after debts (optional)

Bank savings, investments and property in the person's sole name or held as tenants-in-common, less debts. Leave out CPF savings and a jointly held flat. Enter 0 to see shares only.

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Who Gets What

Who	How many	Share each	Amount each	Total

What These Rules Do Not Decide

CPF savings go to the people named in a CPF nomination, not under a will. With no nomination, the Public Trustee's Office distributes them under the intestacy rules. See CPF nomination vs will.
An HDB flat held in joint tenancy passes to the surviving joint owner by survivorship. Only a flat held alone or as tenants-in-common falls into the estate.
Muslims: the Intestate Succession Act does not apply. Estates follow Muslim law (faraid) under a Syariah Court Inheritance Certificate. See faraid and estate planning.
This is general information, not legal advice. Results are estimates.

How The Shares Are Set

When a non-Muslim domiciled in Singapore dies without a valid will, section 7 of the Intestate Succession Act decides who inherits. A surviving spouse takes half if there are children, and the children share the other half equally. With no children, the spouse shares half-and-half with the parents, or takes everything if there are no parents either. Parents, brothers and sisters only inherit when there are no closer relatives.

If a child died before the parent, that child's own children step into his or her place and share the portion their parent would have taken. Brothers and sisters work the same way: the children of a sibling who died earlier share that sibling's portion. After siblings come grandparents, then uncles and aunts, and finally the Government.

The law takes no account of who was closest, who cared for the person, or what he or she said they wanted. A will is how to change the outcome. Our guides explain what happens to a flat, CPF and savings with no will and how to write a will in Singapore.

Assumptions And Limits

Applies the distribution rules in section 7 of the Intestate Succession Act 1967 for a non-Muslim who dies domiciled in Singapore without a valid will. It does not apply to Muslims, whose estates follow Muslim law (faraid).
The estate value is what is left after debts, funeral costs and administration expenses. CPF savings, a flat held in joint tenancy, and insurance policies with a valid nomination usually pass outside the estate, so leave them out.
"Children" means legitimate children and children adopted by court order, as the Act defines them. The Public Trustee's Office notes that illegitimate children are not entitled under these rules.
Brothers and sisters means full siblings. Under the Act, half-siblings rank after full siblings and take only if there are none. A child who died earlier is represented by his or her own children in equal shares; the tool does not model deeper generations.
General information, not legal advice. Real estates can involve foreign assets, partial wills, disputes or relatives the form does not ask about. A lawyer or the Public Trustee's Office can confirm the position for a specific estate.

This calculator was built with AI tools from published rules and may contain errors. Results are estimates for education only, not financial advice and not a guarantee. Rates and rules change; confirm with the official source before you act. Your figures stay in your browser: nothing you type is sent to us.