When you die without a Will or trust, the legal term is “intestate.” In this case, your estate will go through probate court and be distributed pursuant to Georgia law. Many people think that if they don’t have a house or a lot of assets, they don’t have an “estate.” However, any assets (property, belongings, etc.), regardless of their worth, are considered an estate for legal purposes. You should always have a Will because this allows you to determine who receives your property rather than Georgia law when distributing your property after death.
Rules of Inheritance
If you die without a will, your immediate family—if any—will inherit your estate. Half siblings are treated as full siblings, so if you have children with your first wife, they will share equally with the children of subsequent marriages.
The line of succession starts with your spouse as the sole heir if you do not have any children. If you have children, your spouse shares equally with your children, provided your spouse’s share cannot be less than one-third of the estate. If your children are deceased, but have children of their own—your grandchildren—they will inherit your deceased child’s share, per stirpes. This means that they don’t share equally with your spouse and other children, but one grandchild gets your child’s full share, two share your child’s share, etc.
If you do not have a spouse or children, your parents, if alive will inherit your estate. If your parents are not alive, third in line are your siblings. If you have no living siblings, then your nieces and nephews will inherit your estate. If anyone is deceased at a level, their children will inherit the parent’s portion of your estate, per stirpes. Grandparents are fourth in line and share your estate equally. Aunts and uncles are fifth in line. And so forth. Additional remote degrees of kinship are determined by going down the chain of the closest common ancestor of your relative.
Contact the estate planning attorneys at Grissom Law, to create a Will or Trust as a part of your estate plan to ensure your assets are distributed as you wish rather than as the law dictates. Creating an estate plan with a Will and/or fully funded Trust also saves your heirs money and time during the probate process, if a probate is required.
Disclaimer
This Blog/Web Site is made available for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide legal advice. By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and Grissom Law, LLC.