Philadelphia Law Firm Blog by Meyerson and O'Neill Attorneys

If you die in the state of Illinois without a will, your loved ones are left under the state of Illinois “intestate succession” to distribute your personal assets. Who receives what depends on whether you have children, parents, siblings, or other close relatives at the time of death.

Read the following to understand intestacy law in Illinois:

• If the deceased leaves behind children but no spouse, the children inherit the entire intestacy property.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse but no descendants, the spouse inherits the entire intestacy property.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and descendants, the spouse inherits 1/2 of the intestate property and descendants inherit the other 1/2 of the intestate property.
• If the deceased leaves behind parents but no spouse, descendants, or siblings, the parents inherit all of the intestacy property.
• If the deceased leaves behind siblings but no spouse, descendants, or parents, the siblings inherit all of the intestacy property.
• If the deceased leaves behind parents and siblings, both will inherit intestate property in equal shares, except in the case if one parent is living, then they could receive double shares.

To learn more about intestacy laws, visit www.nolo.com.

If you or someone you know is dealing with the loss of a loved one and their estate, contact the lawyers at Meyerson and O’Neill Law Firm today at 877-373-8059.

If you die in the state of Missouri without leaving behind a will, you are said to have died intestacy. The assets that were left in your name only are distributed among relatives according to intestate succession. Many valuable assets don’t go through your will and are not affected by intestate laws, such as 401(k)s and retirement accounts.

Read the following to understand the succession of intestate laws in Missouri:

• If the deceased leaves behind children but no spouse, the children receive the entire estate, divided equally.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse but no descendants, the spouse inherits the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and descendants from the deceased and that spouse, the spouse inherits the first $20,000 of the intestacy property, plus 1/2 of the balance. The descendants inherit the remainder.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and descendants from the deceased and someone other than the spouse, the spouse inherits 1/2 of the intestate property and the descendants inherit everything else.
• If the deceased leaves behind parents and siblings, but no spouse or descendants, the parents and siblings inherit the intestate property in equal shares.
• If the deceased leaves behind parents, but no spouse, descendants, or siblings, the parents inherit the entire intestacy property.
• If the deceased leaves behind siblings but no spouse, descendants, or parents, the siblings inherit the entire intestacy property.

To learn more about intestacy law, visit www.nolo.com.

If you or someone you know has lost a loved one and is dealing with their estate, contact the lawyers at Meyerson and O’Neill law firm today at 877-373-8059.

If you die in the state of Minnesota without a will, you are said to have passed away intestacy. Intestate succession laws distribute the assets you owned in your name only among relatives in a specific order.

Read the following to understand intestate succession in Minnesota:

• If the deceased has left behind children without a spouse, the children inherit the entire estate.
• If the deceased has left behind a spouse but no descendants, the spouse inherits the entire estate.
• If the deceased has left behind a spouse and descendants from the deceased and the spouse, and the spouse has no other descendants, the spouse inherits the entire estate.
• If the deceased has left behind a spouse and descendants from the deceased and the spouse, and the spouse has descendants from another relationship, the spouse inherits the first $150,000 of the intestate property, plus 1/2 the balance. The descendants inherit the remainder of the estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and descendants from the deceased and someone other than the spouse, the spouse inherits the first $150,000 of the intestate property, plus 1/2 of the balance. The descendants inherit the remainder of the estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind parents but no spouse or descendants, the parents inherit the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind siblings but no spouse, descendants, or parents, the siblings inherit the entire estate.

To learn more about intestacy laws, visit www.nolo.com.

If you or someone you know has lost a loved one and are dealing with their estate, contact the lawyers of Meyerson and O’Neill law firm today at 877-373-8059.

If you or someone you know dies in Mississippi without leaving behind a will, they are said to have died intestacy. Only assets that would have passed through your will are affected by intestate succession laws. This typically includes assets that you own alone in your own name.

Read the following to understand intestacy laws in the state of Mississippi:

• If the deceased left children behind without a spouse, the children inherit the entire estate.
• If the deceased left behind a surviving spouse but no children, the spouse inherits the entire estate.
• If the deceased left behind a spouse and one child, the spouse inherits 1/2 of intestate property. The child inherits the other 1/2 of intestate property.
• If the deceased left behind a spouse and more than one child, the spouse and children inherit intestate property in equal shares.
• If the deceased left behind parents but no spouse or children, the parents inherit the entire estate.
• If the deceased left behind siblings but no spouse, children, or parents, the siblings inherit the entire estate.

To learn more about intestacy laws, visit www.nolo.com.

If you or someone you know has lost a loved one and are dealing with their estate, contact the lawyers at Meyerson and O’Neill law firm today at 877-373-8059.

If you or someone in your family dies in Maine without leaving behind a will, they are said to die intestacy. Intestate succession laws divide the assets left in your name alone among your relatives.

Read the following to understand intestacy laws in Maine:

• If the deceased leaves behind children but no spouse, the children inherit all of the estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse but no descendants or parents, the spouse inherits the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and descendants from the deceased and the spouse, the spouse inherits the first $50,000 worth of intestate property, plus 1/2 the balance of the estate. The descendants inherit the remainder of the estate. The size of each child’s share depends on how many children the deceased had.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and at least one descendant from the deceased and someone other than the spouse, the spouse inherits 1/2 of the intestate property. The descendants inherit the rest of the estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and parents but no descendants, the spouse inherits $50,000 worth of the intestate property, plus 1/2 of the balance of the estate.
• If the spouse leaves behind parents but no spouse or descendants, the parents inherit the entire estate.
• If the spouse leaves behind siblings but no spouse, descendants, or parents, the siblings inherit the entire estate.

To learn more about intestacy laws, visit www.nolo.com.

If you or someone you know has lost a loved one and is dealing with their estate, contact the lawyers at Meyerson and O’Neill law firm today at 877-373-8059.

If you die in Louisiana without a will, your assets will go to your closest relatives under “intestate succession” laws. Only assets that would have passed through your will alone in your own name will go through intestate succession. Many valuable assets, such as a 401(k) or other retirement accounts do not go through intestate succession laws.

Read the following to understand Louisiana intestacy laws:

• If the deceased leaves behind children but no spouse, parents, or siblings, the children inherit the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse but no children, parents, or siblings, the spouse inherits the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind parents but no children, spouse, or siblings, the parents inherit the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind siblings, but no children, spouse, or parents, the siblings inherit the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and children, the spouse has the right to use the deceased’s community property for life. The children inherit the right to use share of the community property subject to the surviving spouse’s right to use it for life, as well as the deceased separate property.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and parents, the spouse inherits all of the community property, and the parents inherit the deceased separate property.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and siblings but no parents, the spouse inherits all of the community property, and the siblings inherit the separate property.
• If the deceased leaves behind siblings and parents, but no spouse, the parents have the right to use the intestate property for life, and the siblings inherit the rest of the estate.

To learn more about intestacy laws, visit www.nolo.com.

If you or someone you know has lost a loved one and is dealing with the estate, contact Meyerson and O’Neill law firm today at 877-373-8059.

If you die without a will in the state of Kansas, the state “intestate succession” laws will divide your assets to your closest living relatives. The assets included are ones left in the name of the deceased alone.

Read the following to understand intestacy laws in Kansas:

• If the deceased leaves behind children but no spouse, the children take the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse but no descendants, the spouse inherits the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and descendants, the spouse inherits 1/2 of the intestate property, and the descendants inherit the other 1/2 of the intestate property.
• If the deceased leaves behind parents but no spouse or descendants, the parents inherit the intestate property.
• If the deceased leaves behind siblings but no spouse, descendants, or parents, the siblings inherit the intestate property.

The size of each child’s share depends on how many living children there are. Rarely does the estate go to the state of Kansas, as the laws are designed to get the property of the deceased to any living family members even remotely close.

To learn more about intestacy laws, visit www.nolo.com.

If you or someone you know is dealing with the loss of a loved one’s estate, contact the lawyers of Meyerson O’Neill law firm today at 877-373-8059.

If someone dies without a will in Indiana, the assets of the deceased person will go to the closest relatives under state “intestate succession” laws. Only the assets that would have passed through a will are affected by intestate succession laws.

Read the following to understand intestacy laws in Indiana:

• If the deceased leaves behind children but no spouse, the children inherit all of the estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse but no descendants or parents, the spouse inherits all of the estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and descendants from the deceased and the spouse, the spouse inherits 1/2 of the intestate property. The descendants inherit 1/2 of the intestate property.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and at least one descendant from a previous spouse, the spouse inherits 1/2 of the intestate property and 1/4 of the fair market value of your real estate, minus the value of any claims on that real estate. The descendants inherit the remainder of the estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and parents, the spouse inherits 3/4 of the intestate property. The parents inherit 1/4 of the intestate property.
• If the deceased leaves behind parents but no spouse or descendants, the parents inherit the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind siblings but no spouse, descendants, or parents, the siblings inherit the entire estate.

To learn more about intestacy law in Indiana, visit www.nolo.com.

If you or someone you know is dealing with the loss of a loved one and their estate, contact the Meyerson O’Neill law firm today at 877-373-8059

If you die without a will in Nebraska, your assets will go to your closest relatives in intestate succession. Under intestate succession in Nebraska, who gets what depends on whether or not you have living children, parents, or other close relatives when you pass.

Read the following to understand intestacy laws in Nebraska:

• If the deceased has children but no spouse, all of the estate is given to the children.
• If the deceased leaves behind a surviving spouse but no descendants or parents, the spouse inherits everything.
• If the deceased leaves behind a surviving spouse and descendants from the deceased and the spouse, the spouse inherits the first $100,000 of the intestate property, plus 1/2 of the balance. The descendants inherit the rest of the estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and at least one descendant from the deceased and someone other than the spouse, the spouse inherits 1/2 of the estate property and the descendants inherit the rest of the estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind a spouse and parents, the spouse inherits the first $100,000 of the intestate property, plus 1/2 of the balance. The parents of the deceased inherit the remaining intestate property.
• If the deceased leaves behind parents but no spouse or descendants, the parents inherit the entire estate.
• If the deceased leaves behind siblings but no spouse, descendants or parents, the siblings inherit all of the estate.

To learn more about intestacy laws, visit www.nolo.com.

If you or someone you know is trying to deal with the estate of a loved one, contact the experts at Meyerson and O’Neill law firm today at 877-373-8059.

When someone dies in New Hampshire, their assets go to their closest relatives under “intestate succession” laws. Only those assets which would pass through your will are affected by intestate succession laws, typically including assets that you own alone in your name only.

Read the following to understand intestacy laws in New Hampshire:

• If the deceased has surviving children but no spouse, the children inherit all of the estate.
• If the deceased has surviving spouse but no descendants or parents, the spouse inherits everything.
• If the deceased has surviving spouse and descendants from the spouse as well, and the spouse has no other descendants, the spouse inherits the first $250,000 of the intestate property, plus half of the balance. The descendants inherit the rest of the estate.
• If the deceased has a surviving spouse and descendants from you and the spouse, and the spouse has descendants from another relationship, the spouse inherits the first $150,000 of the estate property, plus half the balance of the estate. The descendants inherit the rest of the estate.
• If the deceased has a surviving spouse and descendants from the deceased and someone other than the spouse, the spouse inherits the first $100,000 of the intestate property, plus half the balance of the estate. The descendants inherit the rest of the estate.
• If the deceased has a surviving spouse and parents, the spouse inherits the first $250,000 of the intestate property, plus 3/4 of the balance of the estate. The parents inherit the rest of the estate.
• If the deceased has surviving parents but no spouse or descendants, the parents inherit all of the estate.
• If the deceased has surviving siblings but no spouse, descendants, or parents, the siblings inherit all of the estate.

Adopted children by the deceased receive an intestate share as biological children would. Foster and stepchildren never legally adopted by the deceased will not receive a share automatically. Children placed for adoption and adopted into another family will not receive an intestacy share. Children conceived by the deceased but not born before the death will receive a share as long as they survive. Children born outside of marriage will receive a share if the court establishes paternity and the children were not adopted by another family. Grandchildren will receive a share if their parent, or the child of the deceased, has passed away before the deceased.

To learn more about intestacy laws, visit www.nolo.com.

If you or someone you know is dealing with the estate of a loved one, contact the experts at Meyerson and O’Neill law firm today at 877-373-8059.