Yes, in that the state furnishes everyone with a plan to settle their affairs and distribute their assets when they die.\u00a0 That plan is called the laws of intestacy. However, that is a far cry from having your own plan to provide for who is to be in charge (the Executor) and who is to receive what. In the narrow sense of having legal documents that state a person\u2019s wishes regarding who they would like to serve as Executor and who they would like to receive their assets after the person has passed away, many have no plan at all.\u00a0 However, in the broader sense of considering whether or not there is a plan for how a person\u2019s assets will be distributed after they die – even if they have not executed a Will – the answer is very much yes.<\/p>\n
That is, if somebody dies having executed a Will while they were alive, then that document will be admitted by a Probate Court in the process of settling the decedent\u2019s Estate.\u00a0 The Court will look to that document to determine who the decedent wanted to serve as Executor.\u00a0 After the Court has formally appointed the nominee as Executor, the Executor in turn is charged with following the instructions provided in the Will to gather the decedent\u2019s assets, settle claims against the estate, deal with various administrative tasks, and finally to distribute the remaining assets to the persons named in the Will.<\/p>\n
If the decedent dies without a Will, that decedent is said to have died \u201cintestate\u201d and a set of default rules will govern the process of settling that person\u2019s Estate.\u00a0 In the absence of a Will that would have stated whom the decedent would have liked to serve as fiduciary, the Probate Court will simply choose and appoint a suitable person to serve as the \u201cAdministrator.\u201d\u00a0 This may be a family member, a friend of the decedent, or even someone who has never met the decedent, such as a lawyer or other professional fiduciary.\u00a0 Once formally appointed by the Court, that Administrator will be obligated to follow the various rules and guidelines that are set by state statute.\u00a0 A court-appointed Administrator will then need to deal with the same tasks as an Executor appointed pursuant to the terms of a Will.<\/p>\n
At the end of the settlement of an intestate Estate, the remaining assets will be distributed according to the \u201cintestate laws\u201d of that state.\u00a0 Those rules, which vary from state to state, will mandate the distribution of assets strictly according to the prospective distributees\u2019 relationship to the decedent.\u00a0 While the rules will typically start in priority with distribution to a surviving spouse or children, the rules go on to provide for distributions to more distant relatives if there is no surviving spouse or children, such as to siblings and parents, etc.<\/p>\n
Under intestate laws there is no room for any subjective evidence of whether or not the decedent had much of a connection with an intestate beneficiary other than bloodlines.\u00a0 It is possible that sometimes, the intestate laws will lead to an outcome that is close to what the decedent would have liked to have happen.\u00a0 For example, the intestate laws may state that all of the decedent\u2019s assets will pass to the decedent\u2019s surviving spouse and that may be what the decedent would have intended.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, in some circumstances the intestate laws may result in an outcome that is very different from what the decedent would presumably have wanted.\u00a0 If the decedent has no surviving spouse or children, the intestate rules may state that the remaining assets are to be split amongst all of the decedent\u2019s siblings. \u00a0In that case, a long lost brother of the decedent from whom the decedent was estranged for 25 years will have just as much of a right to receive a portion of the decedent\u2019s assets as a brother or sister who cared for the decedent during his or her final days.\u00a0 If the decedent lived with a companion but they were never legally married, then that companion will have no right to receive anything whatsoever under the intestacy laws.<\/p>\n
When people are asked if they would like the state to create an estate plan for them, they will almost always answer no.\u00a0 However, if someone keeps perpetually putting off their estate planning until some undetermined future time and they eventually die without ever having gotten around to sign a Will, then the state\u2019s automatic estate plan will be applied, whether the family likes it or not.<\/p>\n
Let us help you take control over your own affairs.\u00a0 Call our office at 888-822-8778 to learn more about the planning options available to you.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/weatherby-associates.com\/everybody-estate-plan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yes, in that the state furnishes everyone with a plan to settle their affairs and distribute their assets when they die.\u00a0 That plan is called the laws of intestacy. However, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n