About the Intestate Succession Act

The purpose of creating a last will is to dictate how estate or assets should be distributed after a person dies. But a lot of people die without leaving a valid will. Rather than fighting over the assets, each state has intestate succession laws, and usually these favor close blood relatives.

Basis

Intestate succession laws are created and used by each state to determine linear descendants for distribution of assets after a person's death. This is done through the applicable probate codes, which create hierarchies of people who have a chance to inherit estates. For example, if a decedent has no spouse to inherit his estate, the estate gets distributed equally to his children. If his children are deceased, the estate goes to their lineal descendants.

 
Requirements
 
There are various situations in which intestate succession laws are applicable. Usually, these laws are applied if a person dies without leaving a will. If he has a will but the court finds that will to be invalid, then intestate succession laws come into play. In this case, intestate succession determines how the estate gets distributed. Additionally, if a person leaves a will but does not mention a specific property, intestate succession laws determine how the property is to be distributed.

 
Parties
 
There are at least four main parties involved in an intestate succession case. These include the decedent, the beneficiary, the personal representative and the probate court. The probate court determines who can act as the executor or personal representative for the estate involved. The representative, sometimes called personal administrator or the executor, is the person appointed to distribute the property in accordance with the guidelines of intestacy laws in that state.