Intestacy Flashcards
Who is the first in line?
SS
How much will SS receive?
1/3 if decedent is survived by any children or descendants who are not children or descendants of SS (remaining 2/3 will pass to decedent’s children or descendants by representation)
otherwise 100% (descendants who are not from outside of marriage will receive nothing)
Who is second in line?
Descendants (same rules as SS)
Who is third in line?
Parents
Who is fourth in line?
decedent’s siblings, and if a sibling predeceased the intestate then their children or other descendants take by representation
If none of the first 4 categories survive, how does it get divided?
the estate gets divided into share for paternal side and maternal side (and if no relatives on one of those sides it goes to the other side), and then each share is distributed according to the following:
-grandparents
-if none, uncles and aunts (and their descendants by representation)
-if none, then great-grandparents
-if none, then siblings of grandparents (and their descendants by representation)
What is the last resort for intestacy?
if no living relative of the intestate can be found, this process is repeated on the side of the intestate’s spouse
what happens if there is NO surviving kin?
property escheats to the Commonwealth (which the Commonwealth does not prefer, hence “laughing heir”)
How does an heir inherit through Intestacy if there are multiple descendants at different levels?
system of representation: children take equal shares if none of the children died before the intestate or if any child died without leaving surviving children or other descendent; this means that a grandchild or a more remote descendant does not share in inheritance if he has living parent, grandparent, or other ancestor who shares in it (in a regular situation where there are two or more heirs at same level, estate is simply divided equally)
What happens if a child dies before the intestate and leaves behind one or more surviving children or other descendants?
A modern per stripes system is used
How does a half-blood relative inherit?
only gets one half of a full blood relative
what is 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. The advancements are added back to the estate, and the total (called a hotchpot) becomes the basis for determining the intestate shares
if the advancements turn out to be more than the the heir would get under this process, the heir can keep what he or she received by lifetime gift; does not have to pay anything to the other heirs
