ClearAll@splitList;
splitList[1][list_] := {list};
splitList[parts_Integer][list_] :=
  With[{n = Ceiling[Length[list]/parts]},
     Partition[list, UpTo[n]] //
     Replace[
      {prev : Repeated[{___}, parts - 1]} :>
      {prev, Apply[Sequence]@Table[{}, {parts - Length@{prev}}] }
     ]
  ]