Intestacy Flashcards
Where are the intestacy rules?
Administration of estates act 1925 AEA
What are the 3 situations where intestacy rules will operate?
Where there is no will, either because deceased never made on, or all wills have been revoked
Where there is a wll, but it is invalid for some reason, or it fails to dispute of any of decease estate
Where there is a valid will, but it fails to dispose of all of the deceases estate (partial intestacy).
What is the statutory trust in intestacy rules?
The intestacy rules impose a trust over all the prperty in respect of which a person dies in estate.
That property is held on trust by the persons dealing with the estate - the PRs.
What does the statutory trust all the PRs to do?
Allows PRs to pay for funeral, testamentary and administration expenses, and any debts.
If necessary, PRs can sell assets.
Balance remaining is the residuary estate, to be shared amongst family in rule of distribution.
What are the rules of distribution?
S 46 AEA.
Supposed to reflect the “average will”.
Usually pass to the intestates family.
Primary beneficiary - surviving spouse.
What is the distribution where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner and issue?
Residuary estate is distributed :
Spouse receives personal chattels absolutely.
In addition, spouse receives a statutory legacy free of tax and costs plus interest from date until payment. In 2020, this was 270,000. Spouse receives it al.
Rest of the residuary estate is divided in half. One half is held on trust for spouse or civil partner absolutely, the other half is held for issue on statutory trusts.
Wehn is a marriage voidable for distribution purposes?
If already married to someone else, or underage, or under duress or suffering mental disability.
What is an issue?
Includes all direct descendants of the deceased - children, grandchildren etc.
Adopted children are included, as are those whose parents were not married at the time of birth.
Step children are NOT, unless adopted.
How long must spouse stay alive after testator, to inherit under intestacy>
28 days in order to inherit. If not, estate id distributed as if spouse had not survived the intestate
What happens to the family home during intestate, if there is a spouse or issue?
Usually beneficially joint tenants. Pass through survivorship, not intestacy.
If forms part of residuary estate, the surviving spouse can require PR to appropriate family home in full or partial satisfication of their interest in the estate. They must be LIVING int eh property.
What happens to the part of the estate whcih does NOT pass to surviving spouse?
This passes to intestates issue on the “statutory trusts”.
What are the memberships of class of beneficiaries in a statutory trust through intestate?
Primary beneficiary - children of intestate who are living at time of death
Interests of children are contingent on attaining age of 18 or marrying under that age.
If any child re deceaess intestate, any children of the deceased who are living, then takes the deceases parents share between them, contingency on attaining I age 18, or earlier if married.
If children or issue survive the intestate by due without attaining a bested interest, interest would NORMALY fail and estate would take. HOWEVER, by s 47, if they die without attaining a vested issue, but leave an ISSUE, they will be treated as having predeceased the intestate, so they can be replaced by their own issue.
What is the distribution if there is a surviving spouse, but NO issue?
The whole estate passes to the spouse or civil partner absolutely.
Other relatives, such as parents, brother, sister, are NOT entitled.
The spouse or civil partner must survive the intestate for 28 days in order to take.
What is the entitlement hierarchy for distribution where there is no surviving spouse or civil partner ?
Issue on statutory trusts
Parents, equal if both alive.
Brothers and sisters of whole blood on statutory trust
Brothers and sisters of half blood on statutory trust
Grandparents
Uncles and aunts of whole blood on statutory trusts
Uncle and aunts of half blood on statutory trusts
Crown
What is bona vacantia?
Means vacant or ownerless goods and under ancient common law rights, property which dod not have an owner, could be TAKEN by a lord.
Where intestate is not survived by any relatives, the estate passes bona vacantia - to the crown.
