About two out of three Americans will die without a will. This is known as dying intestate. There are reasons to avoid intestacy.
While the reasons for not having a will vary, the result is the same for everyone: they do not get to choose who receives their property when they die. Instead, their money and property are distributed according to the laws of their state in a process called intestate succession.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. In most states, a person’s spouse, children, parents, and siblings are given priority in the line of succession. But even if someone is okay with their next of kin receiving all their money and property, a beneficiary can still be required to go through a lengthy and costly court process when there is no will.
State law can only assume how the typical person would dispose of their estate. When a state’s default intestacy laws do not align with the actual preferences of the decedent about who should get what, this can lead to several issues.
It is understandable why people do not want to talk or think about death. But dying without a will takes power out of the individual’s hands and puts it in the hands of the state and its one-size-fits-all intestacy laws.
For a general idea of what happens when a person dies intestate, here is how intestacy law works in a few states and why you might want to avoid it:
Like other states, Texas has its own set of intestacy laws you may want to avoid that govern how a person's property is distributed if they die without a will. In Texas, the intestacy laws are designed to distribute the decedent's assets to the closest surviving relatives.
Texas recognizes both biological and legally adopted children as heirs, but not stepchildren or foster children unless they have been legally adopted. Half-siblings are treated the same as whole siblings in the eyes of the law.
It is important to note that in Texas, separate property and community property are treated differently. Community property is generally divided between the spouse and children, while separate property is divided among all heirs, including parents and siblings if there are no children or spouse.
As with other states, having a will can ensure that a person's estate is distributed according to their wishes rather than the default laws of the state. Therefore, it is advisable for residents to consider creating an estate plan that reflects their specific desires for the distribution of their property after death.
Things can get trickier when children inherit by law from their parents. Adopted children have the same rights as biological children, but foster children and stepchildren do not unless they are legally adopted.[1]
The state of California differentiates between community property and separate property.[2] The former generally includes all property acquired by either spouse during the marriage, while the latter is obtained before or outside the marriage.
When a person dies intestate in California while married, and they have one child or grandchild, the spouse inherits all of the community property and half of the separate property; the child or grandchild inherits the rest. If they die married and intestate with two or more children, the spouse gets all the community property and one-third of the separate property, with the rest split equally among the children.
California also has a few unique intestacy laws you may want to avoid. For example, half-siblings who share a parent are treated as whole siblings for intestacy purposes,[3] and children born after the decedent’s death are treated as heirs.[4]
In Florida, intestate succession hinges on whether a person is married and has children with their spouse.
Note that in Florida, if the spouse has children from another relationship, they inherit nothing under intestacy laws - which may be a reason you would want to avoid intestacy. The decedent’s biological children, even those from another marriage, are given preference over a surviving spouse’s children from another relationship.[5]
Florida places legally adopted children on the same level as biological children. Grandchildren only receive an intestate share if their parent (i.e., the decedent’s son or daughter) is not alive to receive their share.
The above examples should be sufficient to show how state intestacy laws, while broadly similar from state to state, vary in the details and can quickly get complicated, especially when a family is blended and does not have a typical nuclear structure. Because more than half of marriages now end in divorce, most families have shifted from having a biologically bonded mom, dad, and kids to a blended family structure.[6].
Default intestacy laws can leave out not only stepchildren, foster children, and children placed for adoption but also close family friends, charities, and others not related by blood.
Intestacy laws are rigid about who receives how much, so you may want to avoid them. Intestate shares are statutorily determined and do not consider particular circumstances, such as an heir receiving income-based financial aid and may be disqualified from further benefits due to an estate disbursement. This could be avoided by placing money and property in a trust for that individual’s benefit.
Parents commonly divide their money and property equally among their children, but no law requires this, and there are good reasons why some parents do not want equal distributions. State intestacy laws preclude unequal distribution as well as intentional disinheritance of a child.
These circumstances require nuance in an estate plan, but state intestacy laws are not nuanced. Intestacy can also give rise to the following additional issues:
To clarify, not all accounts and property pass through probate when somebody dies without a will. Some accounts and property bypass probate, including those jointly owned with survivorship rights, accounts with beneficiary designations, and transfer-on-death and payable-on-death accounts. However, anything owned by the decedent in their name at death without a beneficiary designation passes through the probate court and is subject to intestacy law.
There is much about death we cannot control. We do not know when, where, or how we will meet our end. But we can control our legacy and make our final wishes known through an estate plan.
There are many reasons for not making an estate plan. You may think you are too young, do not have enough money and property, or cannot afford estate planning. But a better question might be, Can you afford not to have a plan? A basic estate plan can fit your budget and allow you to rest easy knowing your money and property will end up where you want them to go.
Do not leave your legacy up to the state. Create an estate plan while you still can and make your wishes known.
[1] When There Is No Will, NYCourts.gov, https://nycourts.gov/courthelp/whensomeonedies/intestacy.shtml (last visited July 26, 2023).
[2] Cal. Prob. Code § 6401 (West 2022), https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB§ionNum=6401.
[3] Cal. Prob. Code § 6406 (West 2022), https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB§ionNum=6406.
[4] Cal. Prob. Code § 6407 (West 2022), https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB§ionNum=6407.
[5] Fla. Stat. § 732.102, http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.102.html.
[6] Stepfamily Statistics, The Step Family Foundation, https://www.stepfamily.org/stepfamily-statistics.html (last visited July 26, 2023).
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