In the following English vocabulary question, you are given a descriptive phrase. Choose, from the four alternatives, the one word that best substitutes the phrase "a person who dies without making a legal will".

Introduction / Context:
This one word substitution question comes from legal vocabulary. The phrase describes a person who dies without having made a valid will. In law, there is a specific term for such a person, and it appears frequently in discussions of inheritance and property distribution.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The phrase is one who dies without will, meaning without a legal will.
• Option A: Abdicate.
• Option B: Intestate.
• Option C: Fortunate.
• Option D: Desperate.
• We assume one of these options is a standard legal term relating to succession and inheritance.

Concept / Approach:
The correct word is intestate. A person is said to die intestate if they die without leaving a valid will. Abdicate means to give up a position of power, fortunate means lucky, and desperate describes someone in extreme distress. None of these words has any direct legal connection to wills or property division after death.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the legal context suggested by the phrase, which is about wills and inheritance.Step 2: Recall that inheritance law distinguishes between testate succession (when a valid will exists) and intestate succession (when there is no will).Step 3: Recognise that intestate is used as an adjective and noun to mean a person who dies without leaving a legal will.Step 4: Eliminate abdicate, which refers to voluntarily giving up the throne or a high office and not to death without a will.Step 5: Reject fortunate and desperate because they relate to emotional or situational conditions rather than legal status at death. Thus, intestate is the precise one word substitute.

Verification / Alternative check:
Look at how the word is used in legal texts and newspapers: When a person dies intestate, their property is distributed according to the law of intestate succession. Substituting abdicate, fortunate or desperate in that sentence makes it absurd. This confirms that intestate is the correct technical term for the situation described in the stem.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Abdicate is used in sentences such as The king decided to abdicate the throne, which is about relinquishing power during life, not about death or wills. Fortunate and desperate are general adjectives describing good luck or extreme need, and they do not signal anything about legal documents or property distribution. They are clearly not equivalents for the phrase one who dies without will.

Common Pitfalls:
Because intestate is not widely used outside legal contexts, some candidates may not recognise it immediately. A helpful memory trick is to link testate (with a will) and intestate (without a will). The prefix in here has a negative sense, just as in words like incomplete or invalid. Once you see testate and intestate as a pair, the meaning becomes easier to remember.

Final Answer:
The correct one word substitute is Intestate, so option B is correct.