Summary of California Intestacy Rules:
 

D=decedent
S=surviving spouse
DP=domestic partner


(At D's death, S gets her own half of the community property/quasi-community property.)

1.       Give S the D's half of the community and quasi-community property.

 2.       Find any separate property of D.  Ignore people who predeceased D

          a.       if D leaves no issue, parent, or issue of a parent, give all to S/DP

          b.       if D leaves no issue but has a parent or issue of a parent, give 1/2 to S/DP

          c.       if D leaves one child or issue of one deceased child, give 1/2 to S/DP

          d.       if D leaves more than one child, give 1/3 to S/DP
                        same if D leaves one child and issue of one or more deceased child
                        same if D leaves issue of two or more deceased children

 
3.       Give the rest of D's estate to the following.  Distribute everything on the first relevant level.

          D's issue**
          D's parent(s)*
          issue of D's parent(s)**
          D's grandparent(s)*
          issue of D's grandparents**
          issue of D's predeceased spouse**
          D's next of kin (see CPC 6401(f))
          parents of D's predeceased spouse*
          issue of parents of D's predeceased spouse**

 
*if more than one, divide equally
**if all are of same degree of kinship to D, divide it equally; if not, apply section 240