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Intestacy Laws
"Intestacy" refers to any person who dies
without a valid Will, as well as to any of the deceased's property which
does not have instructions for its ownership.
Without a
valid Will,
Washington laws control who receives your property at death, as well as the
exact amount
that is given to each person.
These
"Intestacy Laws" are an attempt to distribute each person's property
in the manner that it
is believed most people would prefer, which is typically to the most closely
related living family members.
However, these laws are merely an assumption and the same distribution
pattern is applied
to all intestate property.
Married Couples
Many married
couples assume that each spouse's individually owned property will automatically
belong to the surviving spouse if either of them dies without a Will.
In actuality, these laws provide the surviving spouse with just
one-half of the deceased spouse's estate if the deceased has any
living children.
In fact, this also applies if the deceased
spouse has any living grandchildren or even great-grandchildren.
Specific Examples | Click Here
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Married Example
Assume that John, who is married to Susan, has
recently died with a $500,000 estate,
but without a Will.
John and Susan have one child, Jane, who is also living at the time of John's
death.
Although many people would assume that John's wife Susan is entitled to the
entire $500,000 of John's estate, she will in fact receive just $250,000.
Without a valid Will directing otherwise, Jane is entitled to receive the remaining $250,000 of
John's estate according to
the Washington's Intestacy Laws.
Also note that Jane's age is not considered, she
will be entitled to this property whether she is an adult or a minor. Jane may also be wealthier than Susan, but these laws still grant Jane a portion of
John's estate simply because he did not have
a Will.
More Examples | Click Here
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Washington Intestacy Calculator
The previous example, and many other possible scenarios,
are shown by our exclusive Intestacy Calculator.
Choosing different family scenarios can often
produce interesting and unanticipated results.
For instance, if John and Susan had a grandchild
by Jane and Jane was deceased at the time of John's death, Susan
will still receive just $250,000 of John's estate and the remaining $250,000
will belong to the grandchild.
Our exclusive Intestacy Calculator evaluates
each of your answers to determine whether more information is needed and, if
so, which questions must be asked. With sufficient information, the
Intestacy Calculator automatically provides a summary of the dollar value
assigned to each person according to the Intestacy Laws of Washington.
As you work through different fact patterns, you
may reset the calculator and begin again. Providing different answers
to the questions will produce different results.
You may freely use our Intestacy Calculator,
without any obligation, and learn about the many possibilities for the
distribution of an intestate estate under Washington Intestacy Law. Of
course, you cannot substitute this information for the advice of an
attorney.
Open the Intestacy Calculator
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