Definitions; special rules for children; slayer statue; disclaimers Flashcards
Anyone who has died is called a…
decedent
When a person dies with with a valid will covering all of their property they die in …..
testate
When a person dies without a valid will they die …..
intestate
when a person dies with a valid will that covers some but not all of their property they die in
partial intestacy
What happens in partial intestacy
The property is disposed of both under the terms of the will and under the laws of intestacy. The will applies to whatever property is covered by the will, and the laws of intestacy apply to everything else
I die with a valid will that leaves my house, car and bank accounts to my kids, but i don’t say anything about my rare book collection…..
I die in partial intestacy, my kids get the house, car, and bank accounts under the terms of the will and my rare book collection passes under the laws of intestacy
The decedent’s property that is distributed under the will or under the laws of intestacy is….
All real and personal property owned by the decedent at death.
What property will not be distributed under the terms of a will or the laws of intestacy ?
- property that passes to someone else by operation of law (joint tenancy with a right of survivorship)
- Any property that passes by a written instrument other than a will (life insurance)
Items that do not pass under the the terms of a will or the laws of intestacy are called ….
non-probate transfers
Decedent and his wife owned a house as joint tenants with a right of survivorship…..
The house is not apart of the decedent’s personal estate. It does to the decedent’s surviving spouse automatically, under the rules for joint tenancy
A beneficiary can take property under a will or the laws of intestacy only if ….
the beneficiary survives the decedent
In virginia, how long does the beneficiary have to survive the decedent
120 hours (Va follows the 120 hour rule) (aka 5 days)
If there is doubt about whether the beneficiary survives the decedent, the standard of proof is ….
clear and convincing evidence
In va a husband and wife are both killed when a tree falls on their house. The wife dies immediately and the husband dies 24 hours later. They each had a will and left their personal estates to each other
The husband will be treated as not surviving the wife, so he gets nothing under the will. Both personal estates will be treated under the laws of intestacy
2 exceptions to the 120 hour rule
- A decedent can modify the application of the 120 rule by lengthening or shortening the 120 period.
- The 120 hour does not apply if it would result in the property going to the commonwealth under escheat