Intestate Succession (33%)

Question 1

Real Property and Personal Property

If spouse and one child (or descendant of child) Survive

Answer 1

Surviving Spouse gets: 1/2 Real + First 60k of Personal + 1/2 Personal Property

Question 2

Real Property and Personal Property

If Spouse and more than one child (or descendant of child) Survive

Answer 2

Surviving Spouse gets: 1/3 Real + first 60k + 1/3 remaining property

Question 3

Real Property and Personal Property

If only Spouse Survives and no children survive (or descendants of child)

Answer 3

Surviving Spouse gets: everything

Question 4

What is a statutory dower?
How to take it?
Benefits of it? (2)

Answer 4

Life estate in one-third of the property that was received during the spouse’s lifetime

• Spouse must elect to take dower over the intestate share
• Creditors of deceased are barred for attacking
• Dwelling Place Rule

Question 5

What is the Dwelling-Place Rule?

Answer 5

The surviving spouse is able to stay in the dwelling space of decedent and take title of all the personal property there

Question 6

The definition of child includes

Answer 6

Children are descendants in the first degree (≠grandchildren)

Question 7

Half Bloods are?

Effect of half-blood relation?

Answer 7

children who only share half their blood with siblings

In n.c. half-blood siblings are equal siblings

Question 8

Can step-children take by succession?

Answer 8

No, not legally children of the parent

Question 9

Unborn Heirs are?

Presumption?

Answer 9

-conceived before death and born after

Treated equal with those born during the parent’s life time
(children born within 10 lunar months (300 days) are children of the deceased)

Question 10

What is the legal status of an adopted child to adopted parents?

To natural parents?

Answer 10

Becomes a natural child of adopted parents

Severe ties to natural parents

Question 11

For a child born out of wedlock, who is he an heir of?

2

Answer 11

• The mother.

- The fathers if the father acknowledge or if it can be proven the father is the child

Question 12

Parents inheritance from an abandoned child

Answer 12

Parents cannot qualify as an heir from an abandoned child who is desceased

Question 13

Spouses of heirs inherit when?

Answer 13

never inherit

Question 14

In wrongful death recoveries, how is the judgment distributed?

Answer 14

Always passes by intestate succession

Never by will

Question 15

What is an advancement?

Answer 15

It is a subsantial gift that is an advance on the ultimate intestate succession

Question 16

If you can show that there was given an advancement to an heir, what is their share at death?

Answer 16

Take the value of the advance, add it to actual value of estate.

Then divide the shares need:

• if advance is less than they would recover by the share, give difference to equal share
• if advance is greater than would recover, the other heir just gets less

Question 17

Simultaneous Death occurs when

Answer 17

two people die together within 120 hours of each other

Question 18

Effect of Simultaneous Death on Tenants by the Entirety:

Answer 18

Then estate is severed and passes down individually to the heirs each tenant

If one lives >120 hours, then rights of survivorship makes estate pass to surviving spouse.