Bona Vacantia

Bona vacantia is the legal outcome when a person dies intestate and there is no surviving relative entitled under the statutory order. With no heir to take it, the estate passes to the Crown — in practice, the state or territory government. It is the last resort of the intestacy rules and the strongest argument for making a Will: without one, and without traceable family, your assets end up with the government rather than a chosen beneficiary or charity.

In most states the government has discretion to make payments to people the deceased might reasonably have provided for, such as a dependent friend or carer, even though they had no strict entitlement. The administering body differs by state (for example, the Crown Solicitor or State Trustee). Example: Because the deceased had no living next of kin and left no Will, her estate was claimed by the state as bona vacantia.