What happens if someone dies without a Will?

We hardly think of death, even though we know that our time here in the vale of matter is short.

Perhaps this “deliberate forgetfulness” is a coping mechanism. Perhaps it’d be crippling if we were to be highly conscious of our eventual, ultimate departure. Perhaps this “selective attention” is also a form of helplessness -- an unconscious admission of our incapacity to fully grapple with a natural phenomenon.

Our Common Debt

We are terrified of our mortality and find it hard to grasp what death signifies. What happens during and after death is an enduring mystery we are yet to unravel. So, it’s understandable that most of us dread death.

No matter the reason why we feel uneasy about death, funerals force us to confront the reality of the transient nature of our lives. In spite of the regularity with which it happens, death still shocks us. It leaves many devastated for a while.

And, after the funeral, they have to deal with everyday realities, and one of the most confounding and disturbing is when we discover that a loved one, a relative, a business partner, or a significant other... has died intestate – that’s the legal term for dying without a will!

It means they have passed without leaving instructions as to how they’d like their assets divided and distributed. It’s a grave mistake to die without a Will, as you will see in this article.

A State of Confusion

Dying intestate is a state of confusion for those left behind. This is because the relatives, partners, and associates of the departed are left without any structured guidance as to how to administer the estate of the deceased. If you were the deceased, for example, your family will have to figure out the following on their own:

1.    What makes up your estate?

2.    What’s the value of your estate?

3.    Who can inherit your possessions?

4.    What specifically can they inherit?

Think about it: all the assets you’ve spent decades acquiring need to be in the hands of those who will take good care of them, right? If the estate is substantial, the absence of a Will can cause more than confusion, in some cases, it causes conflicts. Why?

Driven by greed, different relatives may simultaneously assume, for example, that they are entitled to the same choice parts of the estate. Who’s to decide who has a right to what and when? And, this brings us to another question, which is highly relevant. What is a Will?

What is a Will and should you have one?

A will is a legal document that you create to provide instructions about how your estate (assets) and your children are to be taken care of when you die. It can save those left behind a lot of stress, because it has specific, unambiguous instructions.

It’s shocking, however, that statistics reveal that about half of the adult population have no Will! Ideally, all adults who have assets should have and regularly update their Wills.

A will is very powerful, because you can specify who gets what and when. If you don’t have one, then, you’re in effect asking the state to determine what will happen to your estate when you die. Is that what you’d really like?

Someone who does not care for and may not use an asset well may end up getting it! Remember these are assets you’ve spent decades of your life acquiring.

Benefits of having a Will

The following are some of the benefits of having a Will:

1.    You can use it to let people know who should take care of your children, if they are still under 18, when you die, and what part of your property they are entitled to.

2.    You can leave detailed and specific instructions as to how you’d like all your possessions to be divided and distributed

3.    You can appoint someone (trustee, personal representative, or executor) who will have the duty to ensure that all the instructions in your Will are carried out.

4.    Delays and expenses relating to wrapping up your affairs are reduced

5.    You can use it to reduce the tax burden your estate have to bear

We have looked at what a Will is and its benefits. Now, let’s explore what happens when a person has passed without leaving one. In that situation, the main guide comes from the intestacy laws of the state you reside. It stands to reason that there’d be delays and expenses.

What happens depends on some factors such as: If you were married, single, had children, was childless, where your property is located...

Let’s look at these factors.

Single but no children

Your parents will receive all your possessions, if at the time you passed; you were single and had no children. If your parents have passed, then your assets will go to your siblings (and half-siblings), or to the latter, and a surviving parent. 

If you had no surviving parents, siblings, descendants of siblings, the estate will be divided into two halves. A portion goes to relatives on the mother’s side, and the other half to relatives on the father’s side.

Single with Children

Your assets will be divided equally and given to your children. If any child has passed, their portion will go to your grandchildren.

Married with no Children

How the assets will be divided depends on whether they were marital property or separately owned. If they were the former, they go to the surviving spouse. If they were separately owned, they go to the surviving spouse, siblings, and parents.

Married with Children

The entire estate will go to your spouse, or half will go to your surviving spouse and half to children from another spouse or partner.

Unmarried Couples

The law does not recognize the surviving partner of a deceased, if they were unmarried. So, nothing of the deceased's possessions goes to them. It’s only if there’s a Will, which specifies that they are entitled to certain possessions that they get those.

Domestic Partners

You’d need to confirm the specific laws in the state you reside which covers what domestic partners get when one party is deceased. The laws vary from state to state.

Conclusion

From the above, you can see that it’s a bit complicated when someone dies without a Will. You do have one, right? If you don’t, it’s wise you consult an experienced estate planning attorney to write one for you.

Michael Newman