Laws of Intestacy: What Are They?

There are many steps that go into preparing your family and assets for your passing. It can easily become overwhelming, but the first step to making the process easy is learning what it means to you. Many people’s main priority is ensuring that the assets they have worked hard to earn are appropriately passed down to the right people.?

This can be simple, but knowing what might happen if the proper procedures are not taken is essential. The laws of intestacy in Missouri outline what happens if you die without a will. Let’s go over what they are and what they could mean to you.

What It Looks Like To Pass Without a Will

When you die without a will, also called dying intestate, your assets will no longer be passed down within your wishes, but they will be distributed based on Missouri’s intestate succession laws. In some cases, these laws might not be the ideal choice for those who want specific assets given to certain people.?

Not having a will at your passing will also force your family to go through probate. This can be a very long and expensive process for them compared to something like an informal probate process that will simply distribute based on the written testimony.?

Passing With a Spouse

When you die without a will and you have a surviving legal spouse (Missouri does not recognize common law marriage), they will get 100% of the intestate estate if there are no children in the question. However, if you have children, your spouse will be owed the first $20,000 in value of the estate and 50% of the balance. Your children will then receive the rest.?

Passing With Only Children

In the case that you have no surviving spouse but there are surviving children after your passing, they will be the sole recipients of the estate. The assets will be split accordingly with the number of children; for example, if there are two children, they will be divided equally.?

Passing Without A Spouse or Children

There is also the scenario where there is no spouse or children for the estate to be passed down to. Under Missouri’s intestacy laws, they will look for other surviving family such as parents and siblings of the deceased. If both options exist, the estate will be equally divided between them. This is the same if there are only parents or only siblings.?

However, in the case that there are no parents or siblings, the state will search for aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and so on to see if the estate can still stay with the family. In the event that there is no one, the assets will go back to the state.??

There are many things to consider when you are in the estate planning process, but the one thing to remember is to create a will. If you have questions or need guidance through the process, send me a message or contact the team at Hartmann Law.

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