intestate

American  

[in-tes-teyt, -tit] / ɪnˈtɛs teɪt, -tɪt /

adjective

1. (of a person) not having made a will.

   to die intestate.

2. (of things) not disposed of by will.

   Her property remains intestate.

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noun

1. a person who dies intestate.

intestate British  

/ ɪnˈtɛsteɪt, -tɪt /

adjective

1. 1. (of a person) not having made a will

   2. (of property) not disposed of by will

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noun

1. a person who dies without having made a will

Other Word Forms

• intestacy
  noun

Etymology

Origin of intestate

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin intestātus, equivalent to in- in- ³ + testātus testate

Compare meaning

How does intestate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• testate vs. intestate

Explanation

In legal terms, if someone dies without having made a will, they're intestate. Your great aunt may have intended to leave all her money to her cats, but unfortunately for Flufferkins and Mr. Wiggles, she died intestate. Like a lot of legal words, it might seem more straightforward to simply say, "without a will," but lawyers like to use Latin whenever possible. Intestate comes from the Latin intestatus, "without a will," from the root testari, "bear witness," which it shares with testament. When someone with a lot of money or property dies intestate, it can complicate things for the relatives they leave behind — it's not clear who gets what.

Example Sentences

A new series of laser images shot from a drone offers a dramatic, dynamic look at the ­unfolding landslide on Rattlesnake Ridge south of Yakima that threatens Intestate 82.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2018

The Connecticut Intestate Act was opposed to the English law according to the first two interpretations, but not according to the third.

From The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut by Greene, Maria Louise

It followed, then, that the property reverted to the heirs-at-law as of an Intestate.

From The History of Peru by Beebe, Henry S.

The term Hæres is no more emphatically used of the Intestate than of the Testamentary Heir, for the manner in which a man became Hæres had nothing to do with the legal character he sustained.

From Ancient Law Its Connection to the History of Early Society by Maine, Henry Sumner, Sir

In 1897 and 1899 the suffragists made strenuous attempts to secure a bill to amend the Intestate Law, which greatly discriminates against married women, but it was killed in committee.

From The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV by Harper, Ida Husted