More Than Sympathy by Steven D. Price

Author:Steven D. Price
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781628738889
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 2013-12-17T00:00:00+00:00

Dying without having left a Will is called dying “intestate,” pronounced “in-TESS-tate” and meaning that the property will be distributed according to the laws of the state in which the decedent lived. That doesn’t always jibe with what the decedent might have had in mind. For example, although most people assume that a surviving spouse inherits everything, many states say that the spouse inherits only half the estate, with the remainder going to the intestate’s children and other relatives. Stepchildren and nonmarried partners do not inherit under most states’ laws of intestacy, while the property of a person who dies leaving no heirs goes to the state. Because a Willless estate must still go through probate, the court appoints an Administrator (a female is an Administrix) who handles the details for a fee based on the size of the estate.

The above surveys the usual situation, but there are exceptions. Probate may not be required if an estate is worth less than a certain amount. The amount varies from state to state; for example, California law requires probate for any estate worth more then $100,000.

“Summary probate” or “simplified small estate” proceedings are also available. The requirement in New York State is an estate, excluding real estate and amounts set aside for surviving family members, that has a gross value of up to $20,000. Florida law requires an estate of not more than $75,000 or one that has no real estate and assets of any value that are free from creditors’ claims except for funeral and certain medical expenses. If so, the courts will authorize property transfer based on only affidavits. But more about that later.

In the event that real estate is located in another state other than where the decedent resided, an ancillary probate will be required before that property can be included in the decedent’s estate.

The involvement of a second state raises the question of “residence,” an important issue, because residence determines which probate laws will apply. Let’s suppose that the deceased lived in Chicago, but had a little lake house in Wisconsin where he went every weekend and vacation. After his retirement, he spent more and more time at the lake, so much so that people used to joke that he “visited” Chicago. Which law then applies: Illinois or Wisconsin? The answer is based on the decedent’s intention: the state where he voted, where his driver’s license was issued, where he filed state tax returns, where the Will was made, and any other evidence that the person considered himself a resident of one state or the other would be relevant. Some states make the answer easy: Florida requires its residents to live there for six months and a day out of the year . . . and be required to produce proof should the residency be challenged.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.