If you die without a will—or some other means of transferring your property—your assets will be distributed according to Texas law.

It can be tricky to figure out “who gets what” because the answer depends on several factors. I can’t cover every detail of the law in this article, but I can hit the high points.

If you’re not married when you die—this would include single persons and widowers—but you do have children that survive you, all of your property will go to your children. If you have no surviving children (or never had any children to begin with), but your parents are living, each parent will get an equal share of your property. If your parents are already gone, everything will go to your brothers and sisters.

The law is different if you’re married and your spouse survives you.

Let’s talk first about the separate property of a married person. Separate property is any piece of property that you owned before you got married. It also includes property that you receive by gift or inheritance after you are married. When you die, if you have children that are living, your spouse will get one-third of your personal property and a life estate in one-third of your real estate. Your children will receive two-thirds of your personal property, two-thirds of your real estate, and the final one-third of the real estate after your spouse dies. This only applies to your separate property.

Community property is treated differently. Community property is any piece of property that is purchased after the date of marriage. One-half of the community property asset is owned by the husband and the other half is owned by the wife. So if you own community property and you die without a will, you need to understand that your spouse already owns one-half of that asset. The only question is “who gets your half?”

If your spouse survives you, he or she will get your half of the community property if either of the following conditions are met: (1) you have no surviving children, or (2) you have surviving children and your spouse is also a parent of those children. If you have children that survive you, but they are not also your spouse’s children, your children get your half of the community property.

Does this seem complicated to you? Remember, I’ve only touched on the high points—it can get even more complicated!

What I want you to take away from this article is just how important it is to create your own estate plan. Do not rely on the law to make the right choices for you.

Disclaimer: The discussion in this column may or may not match your individual situation. Be careful not to treat this column as specific legal advice, as it may not meet your individual needs. It may give you a solid basis for discussion with your own attorney. You should consult with your personal attorney before you take any action on this or any legal issue. Also, please be aware that laws change, so this column is valid only as of the date it was published. This communication does not create an attorney-client relationship between the author and the reader.