Intestate Succession refers to the distribution of the property when a person dies without even leaving a valid will among the spouse and heirs that will take this property according to the descent and distribution and martial right in the estate. The rules of the succession of the place where a person resides or has the domicile are often applied, but the place where a person’s property is located can also be applied. The succession rules often play a backup role where the individual has not been placed in the proper property disposed of by the will.
Handling the estate of the deceased person is a huge responsibility for the spouse and heirs. First of all, one should need to collect copies of the decedent’s birth certificate, his/her marriage certificate and death certificate by the Deaths and Marriages Act 1965. Moreover, one should need to collect any trust papers, insurance policies, credit card numbers, lists of the assets of the decedent, including house, jewellery, car, etc., and any tax returns from the previous years. Furthermore, one should need real estate, retirement accounts, safe deposit box content, and stock and bonds. Then, one should notify Social Security to stop or freeze the bank account. Make sure to keep the property safe from theft or any vandalism.
Then, one should need to claim the benefits from the insurance that the decedent may have. One should be prepared with the number of the policy and a copy of the certificate of death before calling the company for an insurance claim. Then, the insurance company will proceed with the policy to someone who was named as the benefactor. After doing this, one needs to start the probate process with local courts. Probate is a lawful procedure for the finalization and administration of the decedent’s state. During this process of probate, the decedent’s family and the advocate will work with the process in the Supreme Court. The court appoints a personal representative to receive all the claims that are legal against the pay creditors and estate and then manages any other expenses that are owned by the estate. Then, after paying any unpaid bills and loans, the administration will proceed with the process of probate. First, the administration needs to identify the legal heirs by probate law (Darrow, 2006).
Then, after identifying the legal heirs, the court will proceed to identify the assets of the decedent that are going to be distributed. After the identification of the property and by paying all the debts and taxes, the remaining property will be distributed among the legal heirs and spouses by section 2 of the 1964 Act (O’Connell, 1972). For example, in California, if a dead person is married, then two out of three parts of the property will be given to the spouse, and only one-third will be distributed among the children or parents.
Moreover, in Pennsylvania, there is a law of inheritance tax of about 15% on the net property of the decedent and also on the transfer of the property in one year from the decedent. In this, the tax money from the decedent’s property goes to the state. Furthermore, it is necessary to fill out the inheritance tax form for the transfer of the subject property of the decedent. If there is no legal heir identified as per state law, then the probate law states that property is considered as defaulted to the state.
References
Darrow, J. J., & Ferrera, G. R. (2006). Who Owns a Decedents E-Mails: Inheritable Probate Assets or Property of the Network. NYUJ Legis. & Pub. Pol’y, 10, 281.
Deaton, B. J. (2007). Intestate succession and heir property: implications for future research on the persistence of poverty in central Appalachia. Journal of Economic Issues, 41(4), 927-942.
O’Connell, D. H., & Effland, R. W. (1972). Intestate Succession and Wills: A Comparative Analysis of the Law of Arizona and the Uniform Probate Code. Ariz. L. Rev., 14, 205.
