Intestate Succession Flashcards
What are the ways that property can pass by intestacy?
Where 1) the D dies without a will; 2) their will is denied probate; or 3) the will does not dispose of all property.
What does the surviving spouse get if the D is also survived by descendants, in most states?
Either 1/3 or 1/2 of the estate.
Under the UPC, if a D is survived by a spouse and descendants, what portion of the estate does the spouse get?
the spouse gets the entire estate assuming all the descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse.
Where there is a surviving spouse but no descendants, how much of the estate does the surviving spouse take in most states?
the entire estate.
Where there is a surviving spouse but no descendants, how much of the estate does the surviving spouse take under the UPC?
the entire estate only if the decedent is not survived by descendants or parents.
How are descendants of the decedent distributed the decedent’s estate in most states?
by per capita with representation.
What distribution scheme does the UPC and a growing number of state espouse?
per capita at each generational level
If the decedent is not survived by a spouse or descendants, how is the estate distributed?
- to parents; 2. to siblings; 3. 1/2 to paternal grandparents, 1/2 to maternal grandparents, 4. 1/2 nearest kin on mother’s side, 1/2 to nearest kin on father’s side.
What happens if the property cannot go to anyone else?
it escheats to the state.
How do adopted children inherit?
the same way that natural children do.
How do stepchildren and foster children inherit?
They have no inheritance rights unless they are adopted by the stepparent or foster parent.
Adoption by Estoppel
a stepchild/foster child may inherit from a steparent/foster parent when legal custody of a child is gained under an unfulfilled agreement to adopt them.
How do posthumous children take?
a child in gestation at the time of the D’s death may inherit as a natural child.
How do nonmarital children take?
nonmarital children always inherit from the mother.
How can nonmarital children take from their father?
if 1) the father married the mother after the kid’s birth; 2) the guy was adjudicated to be the father of the kid; and 3) after his death and during probate proceedings, the man is proved by clear and convincing evidence to be the father.
