Executors or personal representatives managing estate administration have many responsibilities. They have to fulfill financial obligations, initiate probate proceedings and distribute estate resources.
Oftentimes, personal representatives rely on wills and estate planning paperwork to determine who should receive property from the estate. However, many people die without estate plans. When that happens, intestate succession laws apply. Personal representatives have to identify the heirs of the decedent and distribute assets among those individuals.
How can personal representatives identify those with the right to inherit from an estate?
Immediate family takes priority
Intestate succession laws provide clear instructions regarding the distribution of property when someone dies without a will. If an individual has a spouse but no children, their spouse inherits everything.
If they have children but no spouse, then the children share the estate with one another. Those with surviving spouses and children have multiple heirs who might need to split the estate among themselves.
Personal representatives can often readily locate and communicate with spouses and children. Things become more complex if an individual dies without a spouse or children. Their parents, siblings and more distant family members may have a right of inheritance.
The personal representative may need to publish notice about estate administration, review family records and attempt to identify those with a biological relationship to the deceased person to appropriately distribute their property. The failure to identify heirs can lead to probate litigation and complications later.
Those administering an intestate estate often need help ensuring they follow the right procedures, and that’s okay. Identifying heirs is critical to the protection of a personal representative and the proper distribution of estate resources, so it is important to “get this process right.”
