If you were to die without a last will or any other estate planning document directing the transfer of your property, you would die intestate. Exactly how property would be distributed would depend upon the ownership details. Let’s look at the facts.
Life Insurance Proceeds
If you have life insurance policies, the beneficiaries would deal with the insurance companies after your passing. They would receive the insurance proceeds directly, even if there was no last will in place.
Joint Tenancy
It is possible to add a co-owner to property that you own. When you do this, the co-owner is referred to as a joint tenant.
Let’s say that you add your daughter to the title of your home. She would become a joint tenant, and she would own half of the home right away.
Have after your passing, your daughter would inherit the entirety of the home, even if you died intestate.
Payable on Death and Transfer on Death Accounts
A payable on death account can be opened at a bank or a brokerage. These accounts are alternately referred to as transfer on death accounts.
When you open a payable on death account, you name a beneficiary. The beneficiary cannot access the assets while you are still alive, but he or she would assume ownership of the account after your passing. The lack of a last will would not impact the transfer.
It should be noted that in the state of California, you can have a transfer on death vehicle registration, and this would allow someone to inherit your vehicle.
Intestate Succession Laws
Property that was in your sole, direct personal possession at the time of your death would become probate property, and the court would facilitate its distribution through the utilization of intestate succession laws. Under these laws, your property would go to your closest relative or relatives according to a certain pecking order.
To provide a few examples, if you had children still living but no surviving spouse or parents, your children would inherit the entirety of your probate property. Your parents would inherit everything if you had no surviving spouse, children or siblings.
Your spouse would inherit everything if you had no living children, parents, or siblings.
If you had no living relatives at all, the state could absorb your probate property under escheat laws.
Avoiding Intestacy
There is no reason to go through life without a last will or some other estate planning device that will effectively facilitate postmortem asset transfers.
If you don’t know where to begin, our firm can help. We offer free consultations, and you can send us a message through this page to request an appointment: Campbell CA Estate Planning Attorney.
