Wills

A Will is the most essential document in the estate plan. Even if you set up a Trust you need to have a will to pour-over property outside of the Trust into the Trust after you pass. You can avoid an issue regarding the guardianship of your minor children by naming them in the will. You can also own property jointly with rights of survivorship or an account with a paid on death beneficiary designation. Most Individual Retirement Account's ("IRA") and 401k plans all have beneficiary designations that will allow you to pass the property outside of probate without a Will. If you die with property that is not properly designated or transfered to a Trust then your property will pass as laid out by the state law that may not comport with your estate planning goals.

Intestate Succession

A surviving spouse takes the following portion of an Intestate estate:

a) All of the estate if there is no surviving parent or descendant of the deceased.
b) The first $150,000 plus three-fourths (3/4) of the balance of the estate (if any) if there is no descendant of the deceased surviving but there is a parent surviving.
c) The first $150,000 plus one-half (1/2) of the balance of the estate (if any) if the deceased is survived by any descendants, and at least one of them is also a descendant of the surviving spouse.
d) The first $100,000 plus one-half (1/2) of the balance of the estate (if any) if the deceased is survived by any descendants, and on one of them is a descendant of the surviving spouse.

The portion of an Intestate estate NOT given to the surviving spouse (or all of the estate if there is no surviving spouse) is distributed as follows:

a) To the decedent's descendants by "representation."
b) If there are no descendants, to the decedent's parents.
c) If there are no descendants or parents surviving, then to descendants of the parents (i.e., siblings and their descendants by "representation").
d) If no one in these first three categories survives, then one-half of the estate is allocated to each of the maternal and paternal grandparents of the deceased, and is distributed to them or their descendants by "representation."

A person must survive the decedent by 120 hours in order to take a share of the estate

An adopted person is considered to be part of their adoptive family for purposes of intestacy and is NOT part of their natural family for this purpose. Stepchildren take no share of a stepparent's intestate estate.

"Representation" means that the estate is divided equally among a decedent's surviving children, for example. If one of the children dies before the decedent, and if that child left children surviving them, then the deceased child's share is divided equally among their children.

Disclaimer

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages or documents should be taken as legal advice for any case or situation. The information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.