The Laws of Intestacy Flashcards
Who Is Entitled to Inherit through Intestacy?
Begin with the suriviving spouse who receives…
one-third or 100 percent of the decedent’s personal estate, depending on whether the intestate decedent is survived by children or any other descendants from outside the marriage.
Who Is Entitled to Inherit through Intestacy?
If there is one or more surviving children or other descendants but no surviving spouse…
The surviving children or other descendants get 100% of the decedent’s personal estate
Who Is Entitled to Inherit through Intestacy?
No surviving spouse and no surviving children or other descendants—look to …
the intestate’s parents:
* Both parents are alive—the personal estate goes to the two parents;
* Only one parent is alive—the personal estate goes to that surviving parent.
Who Is Entitled to Inherit through Intestacy?
No surviving spouse, no surviving children or other descendants, and no surviving parent…
the intestate’s personal estate goes to the intestate’s siblings; if a sibling has predeceased the intestate, the child or other descendant of that sibling takes a share along with the surviving siblings
Who Is Entitled to Inherit through Intestacy?
No surviving spouse, no surviving children or other descendants, no surviving parent, no surviving sibling, and no surviving descendant of a sibling…
the laws of intestacy divide the intestate’s personal estate into two equal portions and assign one-half to the paternal side and one-half to the maternal side:
* The half for the paternal side is given to paternal relatives, following a specified order, and the half for the maternal side is given to material relatives, again following a specified order.
* If there are no paternal relatives, the paternal share goes to the maternal side; if there are no maternal relatives, the maternal share goes to the paternal side.
Who Is Entitled to Inherit through Intestacy?
No surviving spouse, no surviving children or other descendants, no surviving parent, no surviving sibling, and no surviving descendant of a sibling… the specified order:
- Grandfather and grandmother - or the survivorof the two, if one has already died;
- If there is no grandfather or grandmother, to uncles and aunts (and their descendants, the intestate’s cousins, if any uncle or aunt has died);
- If there are no grandparents, no uncles or aunts, and no descendants of uncles and aunts, to great-grandparents;
- If there are no grandparents, no uncles or aunts, no descendants of uncles and aunts, and no great-grandparents, to the brothers and sisters of the grandparents (and their descendants, if any of them has died)
The search keeps on going up the ancestral chain until a lineal ancestor is found who survives the intestate or who left a descendant who survives the intestate.
Who Is Entitled to Inherit through Intestacy?
If no living relative of the intestate can be found,…
the process is repeated on the side of the intestate’s spouse.
Who Is Entitled to Inherit through Intestacy?
What is the laughing heir statute?
Makes escheat unlikely because the statute prefers that any relative inherit from the decedant than for the estate to escheat to thye commonwealth
How an Heir Inherits through Intestacy
100% or 1/3 to surviving spouse depending of if children. 100% to children if all survive intestate and there is no surviving spouse. Then what?
Modern Per Stirpes (per capita with representation). This system is applied when a child dies before the intestate and leaves behind one or more surviving children or other descendants
How an Heir Inherits through Intestacy
How does modern per stirpes work when the intestate is survived by children and one dies before intestate but leaves children?
- The estate is divided so that there is one share for each surviving child and one share for each child who died before the intestate and who left behind a surviving child or other descendant.
- The share for the child who died before the intestate is then divided among that child’s surviving children or other descendants.
How an Heir Inherits through Intestacy
How does modern per stirpes work when Intestate is not survived by children but is survived by more remote descendants?
The estate is divided at the level where there is a remote surviving descendant.
How an Heir Inherits through Intestacy
what is the half-blood rule?
A hald-blood relative only gets one-half the share of a full-blood relative.
This does not apply for the intestate’s children, other descendants, parents, or other ancestors; It only applies to siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other collateral relatives;
Does not reduce the half-blood relative’s share if the half-blood relative is the only member of a class entitled to a share.
How an Heir Inherits through Intestacy
Adopted children have the same inheritance rights as biological children. Generally no right to inherit from biological parents except…
- when the child is adopted by the spouse of a biological parent; and
- where there was an involuntary termination of the parental rights of the child’s biological parents
How an Heir Inherits through Intestacy
What about foster and step children?
Do not have inheritance rights through intestacy from a foster parent or a step-parent
What’s an advancement?
If the intestate made substantial gifts during her lifetime to someone who becomes an heir after the intestate’s death, the gifts may be considered an advancement and may offset the heir’s intestate share.
In that case, the advancements are added back to the estate, and the total — called a notch pot — becomes the basis for determining intestate
shares.
