Definitions
Define escheat.
The legal process where property transfers to the state when a decedent dies without heirs or a will.
A man died intestate, leaving a wife. The man’s parents had predeceased him. The governing jurisdiction had adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC).
In which of the following circumstances would the wife inherit the smallest share of the man’s intestate estate?
A. Neither the man nor the wife have children.
B. The man and wife have children together.
C. The man and wife have children together and the wife has children from a previous marriage.
D. The man and wife have children together and the man has children from a previous marriage.
D. The man and wife have children together and the man has children from a previous marriage.
T dies intestate, survived by T's biological child A and adopted child B.
Does B inherit?
Generally yes.
What is required to treat a lifetime advancement in hotpot calculations?
The transfer must be formally documented in writing as an advance against inheritance.
What is disclaimer?
When a heir declines or refuses to take property.
What is intestate succession?
When there is no will, the state intestacy law designates how a decedent's property is distributed.
A man and a woman were married and had a son together. Neither the man nor the woman had any other children. The couple’s son had two children of his own (the man’s grandchildren). The son predeceased the man, who died intestate, leaving an estate of $400,000. The man was survived by only his wife, his two grandchildren, and his mother.
How will the man’s intestate estate be distributed?
The man’s wife inherits the entire $400,000.
T dies intestate with an estate worth $500,000. T's child A died before T. A left two children, B and C. T has one other surviving child, D.
How much does each inherit?
D gets $250,000.
B and C each get $125,000.
A dies intestate, leaving three children: B, C, and D. During A's lifetime, A gives B $30,000 and expressly states in writing that the $30,000 is an advancement against B's inheritance. At A's death, A has $90,000 remaining in the estate.
How much does each child receive?
B receives $10,000.
C and D each receive $40,000.
If A intentionally kills B, how will A be treated for the distribution of B's estate?
B's estate will be distributed as though A had predeceased B.
What is the difference between an executor and administrator?
An executor is named in a will to administer an estate. An administrator is appointed by the court when there is no will or an executor is unavailable.
A man died intestate. He was survived by his wife, his siblings, and both his maternal and paternal grandparents. However, the man had no descendants or surviving parents. These events occurred in a jurisdiction that follows the Uniform Probate Code.
How will the man’s intestate estate be distributed?
The wife inherits the entire estate.
A and B were married and had a baby girl. After A and B divorced, A married C, who legally adopted the girl.
From whom may the girl inherit through intestacy?
A, B, and C.
T dies intestate, leaving children A and B. During T's lifetime, T gave A $50,000 to use for law school tuition.
Is the $50,000 considered an advancement?
No.
T died intestate, survived by his son, A, and daughter, B. Before T's death, A intentionally caused T's death during an argument. Although the police investigated the death, the prosecutor never filed criminal charges against A. A later filed a petition in probate court seeking T's entire estate, arguing that because A had never been convicted of killing T, A was legally entitled to inherit as T's surviving child.
Is A's lack of a criminal conviction sufficient to permit A to inherit from T?
No.
What is a holographic will?
A will in the writing of the testator without witnesses.
A man died intestate, leaving behind his wife and his mother. The man did not have any children, but his wife had a child from a previous marriage. The man’s intestate estate was valued at $900,000.
How much will the man’s wife inherit?
$750,000
A man had three children: two daughters and a son. The man gave the younger daughter $40,000 for her twenty-first birthday. Several months later, the man sent his younger daughter a letter explaining that the $40,000 was an advancement on her inheritance. The man’s son was in an unmarried relationship with a woman, who gave birth to a girl. Shortly after the little girl’s birth, the man’s son and this woman separated. Several years later, the woman reached out to the man’s son for child support. The man’s son signed a notarized affidavit declaring himself to be the little girl’s father, and agreeing to pay child support. However, the man’s son never actually paid any child support for the little girl. The man’s son later died, and the man died a year later. The man left an intestate estate of $30,000.
Assuming that there are no other potential heirs for either the man or his son, how much do the man’s two daughters and the little girl inherit, if anything?
The man’s two daughters and the little girl each inherit $10,000.
A man never married and had no children. The man had two sisters, one older and one younger. The older sister had a son (the man’s nephew). The younger sister had two daughters (the man’s nieces). The man was especially close to his nephew. One year, the man gave his nephew $300,000, accompanied by a letter stating that the $300,000 was an advancement on any inheritance the nephew might receive from the man. The younger sister predeceased the man. The man later died intestate, leaving an intestate estate of $1,800,000.
Assuming per capita at generation, how much does each person inherit?
The older sister inherits $1,050,000. The nieces inherit $350k each. The nephew inherits $50k.
O has two children, A and B. A has four children: C, D, E, and F. B dies, survived by one child, G. Then O, a widow, dies intestate.
But suppose A disclaims and the jurisdiction uses a per capita at each generation system of representation.
How is O's intestate estate distributed?
C, D, E, and F each take one-eighth.
G takes one-half.
What is the difference between "devise" and "bequeath"?
Devise is a testamentary (by will) disposition of real property or money.
Bequeath is to give or leave (by will) personal property.
A man died intestate, leaving a wife and three sons. The man’s parents had predeceased him. The man had divorced his ex-wife 10 years before his death. The ex-wife gave birth to a daughter six months after the divorce; paternity tests proved that this daughter was the man’s. At the time of the man’s death, his wife had no other children besides the three sons she shared with the man. The man’s intestate estate was worth $500,000. The governing jurisdiction has adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC).
How will the man’s intestate estate be distributed?
The wife will inherit $325,000, and the man’s four surviving children will each inherit $43,750.
A woman had three sons. At the time of the woman’s death, her husband and her eldest son had already died. However, the women’s eldest son was survived by two children of his own (the woman’s grandchildren) who do not yet have any offspring. The woman’s second son was still alive but had no descendants. The woman’s third son had a daughter, but both the third son and the third son’s daughter had predeceased the woman. However, the third son’s daughter (the woman’s grandchild) was survived by three daughters of her own (the woman’s great-grandchildren). The woman had no other heirs. Thus, the woman was survived by six living descendants: her second son, the two grandchildren from her first son, and the three great-grandchildren from her third son. The woman’s intestate estate was distributed to her descendants using the per-capita-at-each-generation method.
What share of the woman’s estate does each of the six living descendants inherit, if any?
The woman’s second son inherits one-third of the estate, the two grandchildren each inherit two-ninths of the estate, and the three great-grandchildren each inherit two twenty-sevenths of the estate.
A woman had five children. The woman made inter vivos advancements of $10,000 to the first child, $20,000 to the second child, and $50,000 to the third child. The woman made the appropriate contemporaneous statement with each gift, clearly noting that each amount was meant to be an advancement on that child’s inheritance. The woman died intestate, leaving $100,000 in property and money to be distributed. The woman’s five children were her only legal heirs.
Using the hotchpot method, how much should be distributed to the woman’s fourth child?
$32,500
T's will gives A $200,000 and provides that if A does not survive T, the gift passes to B. A survives T but validly disclaims.
Under the UPC, which is most accurate?
A. A's disclaimer is ineffective because A survived T.
B. B takes only if A first transfers the money to B.
C. A is treated as having predeceased T with respect to the disclaimed interest, so the gift passes to B.
D. The gift automatically passes through intestacy.
C. A is treated as having predeceased T with respect to the disclaimed interest, so the gift passes to B.