Estate Planning
- Details
Ohio's intestacy laws - or laws of intestate succession - determine how property is distributed if you die without a valid will in Ohio. The primary statutes comprising Ohio's intestacy laws are set forth below. For a more complete list, see Ohio Intestacy Laws | Intestate Succession statutes.
2105.01 No distinction between ancestral and nonancestral or real and personal property.
In intestate succession, there shall be no difference between ancestral and nonancestral property or between real and personal property.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-01-1953
2105.02 Construction of living and died.
When,in Chapter 2105. of the Revised Code, a person is described as living, it means that the person was living at the time of the death of the intestate from whom the estate came, and when a person is described as having died, it means that the person died before such intestate.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
2105.03 Determination of next of kin.
In the determination of intestate succession, next of kin shall be determined by degrees of relationship computed by the rules of civil law.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-01-1953
2105.04 Permanent leases to descend same as estates in fee.
Permanent leasehold estates, renewable forever, are subject to Chapter 2105. of the Revised Code.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
2105.05 Repealed.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-26-1976
2105.051 Advancements - time of valuation.
When a person dies, property that he gave during his lifetime to an heir shall be treated as an advancement against the heir’s share of the estate only if declared in a contemporaneous writing by the decedent, or acknowledged in writing by the heir to be an advancement. For this purpose, property advanced is valued as of the time the heir came into possession or enjoyment of the property, or as of the time of death of the decedent, whichever occurs first. If the heir does not survive the decedent, the property shall not be taken into account in computing the intestate share to be received by the heir’s issue, unless the declaration or acknowledgment provides otherwise.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 01-01-1976
2105.052 Debts owed to decedent.
Any debt owed to a decedent shall not be charged against the intestate share of any person except the debtor. If the debtor fails to survive decedent, the debt shall not be taken into account in computing the intestate share of the debtor’s issue.
Effective Date: 01-01-1976
2105.06 Statute of descent and distribution.
When a person dies intestate having title or right to any personal property, or to any real estate or inheritance, in this state, the personal property shall be distributed, and the real estate or inheritance shall descend and pass in parcenary, except as otherwise provided by law, in the following course:
(B) If there is a spouse and one or more children of the decedent or their lineal descendants surviving, and all of the decedent’s children who survive or have lineal descendants surviving also are children of the surviving spouse, then the whole to the surviving spouse;
(C) If there is a spouse and one child of the decedent or the child’s lineal descendants surviving and the surviving spouse is not the natural or adoptive parent of the decedent’s child, the first twenty thousand dollars plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate to the spouse and the remainder to the child or the child’s lineal descendants, per stirpes;
(D) If there is a spouse and more than one child or their lineal descendants surviving, the first sixty thousand dollars if the spouse is the natural or adoptive parent of one, but not all, of the children, or the first twenty thousand dollars if the spouse is the natural or adoptive parent of none of the children, plus one-third of the balance of the intestate estate to the spouse and the remainder to the children equally, or to the lineal descendants of any deceased child, per stirpes;
(E) If there are no children or their lineal descendants, then the whole to the surviving spouse;
(F) If there is no spouse and no children or their lineal descendants, to the parents of the intestate equally, or to the surviving parent;
(G) If there is no spouse, no children or their lineal descendants, and no parent surviving, to the brothers and sisters, whether of the whole or of the half blood of the intestate, or their lineal descendants, per stirpes;
(H) If there are no brothers or sisters or their lineal descendants, one-half to the paternal grandparents of the intestate equally, or to the survivor of them, and one-half to the maternal grandparents of the intestate equally, or to the survivor of them;
(I) If there is no paternal grandparent or no maternal grandparent, one-half to the lineal descendants of the deceased grandparents, per stirpes; if there are no such lineal descendants, then to the surviving grandparents or their lineal descendants, per stirpes; if there are no surviving grandparents or their lineal descendants, then to the next of kin of the intestate, provided there shall be no representation among such next of kin;
(J) If there are no next of kin, to stepchildren or their lineal descendants, per stirpes;
(K) If there are no stepchildren or their lineal descendants, escheat to the state.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 03-22-2001
2105.061 Real property subject to monetary charge of surviving spouse.
Except any real property that a surviving spouse elects to receive under section 2106.10 of the Revised Code, the title to real property in an intestate estate shall descend and pass in parcenary to those persons entitled to it under division (B), (C), or (D) of section 2105.06 of the Revised Code, subject to the monetary charge of the surviving spouse. The administrator or executor shall file an application for a certificate of transfer as provided in section 2113.61 of the Revised Code, and the application shall include a statement of the amount of money that remains due and payable to the surviving spouse as found by the probate court. The certificate of transfer ordered by the probate court shall recite that the title to the real property described in the certificate is subject to the monetary charge in favor of the surviving spouse and shall recite the value in dollars of the charge on the title to the real property included in the certificate.
2105.062, 2105.063 Amended and Renumbered RC 2106.10, 2106.11.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-31-1990
2105.07 Escheat of personal estate.
When, under Chapter 2105. of the Revised Code, personal property escheats to the state, the prosecuting attorney of the county in which letters of administration are granted upon such estate shall collect and pay it over to the county treasurer. Such estate shall be applied exclusively to the support of the common schools of the county in which collected.
2105.08 Application of provisions relating to escheating estates.
Chapter 2105. of the Revised Code applies to any escheating estate of which possession has not been taken, or which has not been collected by the proper officers of the state or those acting under their authority. Right or claim of the state thereto is hereby relinquished to the person who would have been entitled thereto had such sections been in force when the intestate died.
2105.09 Disposition of escheated lands.
(A) The county auditor, unless he acts pursuant to division (C) of this section, shall take possession of real property escheated to the state that is located in his county and outside the incorporated area of a city. The auditor shall take possession in the name of the state and sell the property at public auction, at the county seat of the county, to the highest bidder, after having given thirty days’ notice of the intended sale in a newspaper published within the county.
On the application of the auditor, the court of common pleas shall appoint three disinterested freeholders of the county to appraise the real property. The freeholders shall be governed by the same rule as appraisers in sheriffs’ or administrators’ sales. The auditor shall sell the property at not less than two thirds of its appraised value and may sell it for cash, or for one-third cash and the balance in equal annual payments, the deferred payments to be amply secured. Upon payment of the whole consideration, the auditor shall execute a deed to the purchaser, in the name and on behalf of the state. The proceeds of the sale shall be paid by the auditor to the county treasurer.
If there is a regularly organized agricultural society within the county, the treasurer shall pay the greater of six hundred dollars or five per cent of the proceeds, in any case, to the society. The excess of the proceeds, or the whole thereof if there is no regularly organized agricultural society within the county, shall be distributed as follows:
(1) Twenty-five per cent shall be paid equally to the townships of the county;
(2) Seventy per cent shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the Agro Ohio fund created under section 901.04 of the Revised Code;
(3) Five per cent shall be credited to the county general fund for such lawful purposes as the board of county commissioners provides.
(B) The legislative authority of a city within which are lands escheated to the state, unless it acts pursuant to division (C) of this section, shall take possession of the lands for the city, and the title to the lands shall vest in the city. The city shall use the premises primarily for health, welfare, or recreational purposes, or may lease them at such prices and for such purposes as it considers proper. With the approval of the tax commissioner, the city may sell the lands or any undivided interest in the lands, in the same manner as is provided in the sale of land not needed for any municipal purposes; provided, that the net proceeds from the rent or sale of the premises shall be devoted to health, welfare, or recreational purposes.
(C) As an alternative to the procedure prescribed in divisions (A) and (B) of this section, the county auditor, or if the real property is located within the incorporated area of a city, the legislative authority of that city by an affirmative vote of at least a majority of its members, may request the probate court to direct the administrator or executor of the estate that contains the escheated property to commence an action in the probate court for authority to sell the real property in the manner provided in Chapter 2127. of the Revised Code. The proceeds from the sale of real property that is located outside the incorporated area of a city shall be distributed by the court in the same manner as the proceeds are distributed under division (A) of this section. The proceeds from the sale of real property that is located within the incorporated area of a city shall be distributed by the court in the same manner as the proceeds are distributed under division (B) of this section.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 09-08-1986
2105.10 Parent abandoning minor child barred from intestate succession.
(A) As used in this section:
(1) “Abandoned” means that a parent of a minor failed without justifiable cause to communicate with the minor, care for him, and provide for his maintenance or support as required by law or judicial decree for a period of at least one year immediately prior to the date of the death of the minor.
(2) “Minor” means a person who is less than eighteen years of age.
(B) Subject to divisions (C), (D), and (E) of this section, a parent who has abandoned his minor child who subsequently dies intestate as a minor shall not inherit the real or personal property of the deceased child pursuant to section 2105.06 of the Revised Code. If a parent is prohibited by this division from inheriting from his deceased child, the real or personal property of the deceased child shall be distributed, or shall descend and pass in parcenary, pursuant to section 2105.06 of the Revised Code as if the parent had predeceased the deceased child.
(C) Subject to divisions (D) and (E) of this section, a parent who is alleged to have abandoned a child who died as an intestate minor shall be considered as a next of kin or an heir at law of the deceased child only for the following purposes:
(1) To receive any notice required to be given to the heirs at law of a decedent in connection with an application for release of an estate from administration under section 2113.03 of the Revised Code;
(2) To be named as a next of kin in an application for the appointment of a person as the administrator of the estate of the deceased child, if the parent is known to the person filing the application pursuant to section 2113.07 of the Revised Code, and to receive a citation issued by the probate court pursuant to that section.
(D)
(1) The prohibition against inheritance set forth in division (B) of this section shall be enforceable only in accordance with a probate court adjudication rendered pursuant to this division.
(2) If the administrator of the estate of an intestate minor has actual knowledge, or reasonable cause to believe, that the minor was abandoned by a parent, the administrator shall file a petition pursuant to section 2123.02 of the Revised Code to obtain an adjudication that the parent abandoned the child and that, because of the prohibition against inheritance set forth in division (B) of this section, the parent shall not be considered to be an heir at law of, and shall not be entitled to inherit the real and personal property of, the deceased child pursuant to section 2105.06 of the Revised Code. That parent shall be named as a defendant in the petition and, whether or not that parent is a resident of this state, shall be served with a summons and a copy of the petition in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure. In the heirship determination proceeding, the administrator has the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the parent abandoned the child. If, after the hearing, the probate court finds that the administrator has sustained that burden of proof, the probate court shall include in its adjudication described in section 2123.05 of the Revised Code its findings that the parent abandoned the child and, because of the prohibition against inheritance set forth in division (B) of this section, the parent shall not be considered to be an heir at law of, and shall not be entitled to inherit the real and personal property of, the deceased child pursuant to section 2105.06 of the Revised Code. If the probate court so finds, then, upon the entry of its adjudication on its journal, the administrator may make a final distribution of the estate of the deceased child in accordance with division (B) of this section.
(3) An heirship determination proceeding resulting from the filing of a petition pursuant to this division shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 2123. of the Revised Code, except to the extent that a provision of this section conflicts with a provision of that chapter, in which case the provision of this section shall control.
(E) If the administrator of the estate of an intestate minor has not commenced an heirship determination proceeding as described in division (D) of this section within four months from the date that he receives his letters of administration, then such a proceeding may not be commenced subsequently, no parent of the deceased child shall be prohibited from inheriting the real or personal property of the deceased child pursuant to division (B) of this section, and the probate of the estate of the deceased child in accordance with section 2105.06 and other relevant sections of the Revised Code shall be forever binding.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 08-03-1992
2105.11 Estate to descend equally to children of intestate.
When a person dies intestate leaving children and none of the children of such intestate have died leaving children or their lineal descendants, such estate shall descend to the children of such intestate, living at the time of his death, in equal proportions.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-01-1953
2105.12 Descent when all descendants of equal degree of consanguinity.
When all the descendants of an intestate, in a direct line of descent, are on an equal degree of consanguinity to the intestate, the estate shall pass to such persons in equal parts, however remote from the intestate such equal and common degree of consanguinity may be.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-01-1953
2105.13 Descent when children and heirs of deceased children are living.
If some of the children of an intestate are living and others are dead, the estate shall descend to the children who are living and to the lineal descendants of such children as are dead, so that each child who is living will inherit the share to which he would have been entitled if all the children of the intestate were living, and the lineal descendants of the deceased child will inherit equal parts of that portion of the estate to which such deceased child would be entitled if he were living.
This section shall apply in all cases in which the descendants of the intestate, not more remote than lineal descendants of grandparents, entitled to share in the estate, are of unequal degree of consanguinity to the intestate, so that those who are of the nearest degree of consanguinity will take the share to which they would have been entitled, had all the descendants in the same degree of consanguinity with them who died leaving issue, been living.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-01-1953
2105.14 Posthumous child to inherit.
Descendants of an intestate begotten before his death, but born thereafter, in all cases will inherit as if born in the lifetime of the intestate and surviving him; but in no other case can a person inherit unless living at the time of the death of the intestate.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-01-1953
2105.15 Designation of heir at law.
A person of sound mind and memory may appear before the probate judge of his county and in the presence of such judge and two disinterested persons of such person’s acquaintance, file a written declaration declaring that, as his free and voluntary act, he did designate and appoint another, stating the name and place of residence of such person specifically, to stand toward him in the relation of an heir at law in the event of his death. Such declaration must be attested by the two disinterested persons and subscribed by the declarant. If satisfied that such declarant is of sound mind and memory and free from restraint, the judge thereupon shall enter that fact upon his journal and make a complete record of such proceedings. Thenceforward the person designated will stand in the same relation, for all purposes, to such declarant as he could if a child born in lawful wedlock. The rules of inheritance will be the same between him and the relations by blood of the declarant, as if so born. A certified copy of such record will be prima-facie evidence of the fact stated therein, and conclusive evidence, unless impeached for actual fraud or undue influence. After a lapse of one year from the date of such designation, such declarant may have such designation vacated or changed by filing in said probate court an application to vacate or change such designation of heir; provided, that there is compliance with the procedure, conditions, and prerequisites required in the making of the original declaration.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-01-1953
2105.16 Heirs of aliens may inherit - aliens may hold lands.
No person who is capable of inheriting shall be deprived of the inheritance by reason of any of his ancestors having been aliens. Aliens may hold, possess, and enjoy lands, tenements, and hereditaments within this state, either by descent, devise, gift, or purchase, as fully as any citizen of the United States or of this state may do.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-01-1953
2105.17 Children born out of wedlock.
Children born out of wedlock shall be capable of inheriting or transmitting inheritance from and to their mother, and from and to those from whom she may inherit, or to whom she may transmit inheritance, as if born in lawful wedlock.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 01-01-1976
2105.18 Amended and Renumbered RC 5101.314.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 01-01-1998
2105.19 Persons prohibited from benefiting by the death of another.
(A) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, no person who is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or is found not guilty by reason of insanity of a violation of or complicity in the violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, or 2903.03 of the Revised Code or of an existing or former law of any other state, the United States, or a foreign nation, substantially equivalent to a violation of or complicity in the violation of any of these sections, no person who is indicted for a violation of or complicity in the violation of any of those sections or laws and subsequently is adjudicated incompetent to stand trial on that charge, and no juvenile who is found to be a delinquent child by reason of committing an act that, if committed by an adult, would be a violation of or complicity in the violation of any of those sections or laws, shall in any way benefit by the death. All property of the decedent, and all money, insurance proceeds, or other property or benefits payable or distributable in respect of the decedent’s death, shall pass or be paid or distributed as if the person who caused the death of the decedent had predeceased the decedent.
(B) A person prohibited by division (A) of this section from benefiting by the death of another is a constructive trustee for the benefit of those entitled to any property or benefit that the person has obtained, or over which he has exerted control, because of the decedent’s death. A person who purchases any such property or benefit from the constructive trustee, for value, in good faith, and without notice of the constructive trustee’s disability under division (A) of this section, acquires good title, but the constructive trustee is accountable to the beneficiaries for the proceeds or value of the property or benefit.
(C) A person who is prohibited from benefiting from a death pursuant to division (A) of this section either because he was adjudicated incompetent to stand trial or was found not guilty by reason of insanity, or his guardian appointed pursuant to Chapter 2111. of the Revised Code or other legal representative, may file a complaint to declare his right to benefit from the death in the probate court in which the decedent’s estate is being administered or which released the estate from administration. The complaint shall be filed no later than sixty days after the person is adjudicated incompetent to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of insanity. The court shall notify each person who is a devisee or legatee under the decedent’s will, or if there is no will, each person who is an heir of the decedent pursuant to section 2105.06 of the Revised Code that such a complaint has been filed within ten days after the filing of such a complaint. The person who files the motion, and each person who is required to be notified of the filing of the motion under this division is entitled to a jury trial in the action. To assert the right, the person desiring a jury trial shall demand a jury in the manner prescribed in the civil rules.
A person who files a complaint pursuant to this division shall be restored to his right to benefit from the death unless the court determines, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the person would have been convicted of a violation of, or complicity in the violation of, section 2903.01, 2903.02, or 2903.03 of the Revised Code, or of a law of another state, the United States, or a foreign nation that is substantially similar to any of those sections, if he had been brought to trial in the case in which he was adjudicated incompetent or if he were not insane at the time of the commission of the offense.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-17-1985
2105.20 Waste by tenant for life.
A tenant for life in real property who commits or suffers waste thereto shall forfeit that part of the property, to which such waste is committed or suffered, to the person having the immediate estate in reversion or remainder and such tenant will be liable in damages to such person for the waste committed or suffered thereto.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-01-1953
2105.21 Repealed.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
2105.25 Filing declaration alleging fatherhood of adult child.
(A) As used in this section and section 2105.26 of the Revised Code:
(1) “Adult child” means a person born in this state who is twenty-three years old or older.
(2) “Genetic test” has the same meaning as in section 3111.09 of the Revised Code.
(B) A man alleging himself to be the father of an adult child, the adult child’s mother, and the adult child may appear together before the probate judge of the county in which the man resides and jointly file a declaration stating that the man is the adult child’s father and requesting that the court issue an order declaring the man to be the adult child’s father. The declaration must state that the adult child’s birth certificate does not designate anyone as the adult child’s father, the request for the order is made freely and voluntarily by all parties appearing before the court, and genetic test results show the man is the adult child’s father. A copy of the birth certificate and the genetic test results must be attached to the declaration.
(C) The man alleging himself to be the adult child’s father and the adult child may appear before the court without the adult child’s mother and file the declaration if the mother is deceased or has been adjudicated incompetent. If the man alleging himself to be the adult child’s father is not a resident of this state, appearance under this section may be made before a probate judge of any county of this state.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-31-2001
2105.26 Order declaring fatherhood of adult child.
(A) If the probate court determines the following, it shall issue the order requested under section 2105.25 of the Revised Code declaring the man alleging himself to be the father of the adult child to be the adult child’s father:
(1) The order was freely and voluntarily requested.
(2) No person is designated as the father on the birth certificate of the adult child.
(3) Genetic test results show that the man is the father of the adult child.
(4) It is in the best interests of the man and adult child that the order be issued.
(B) As part of the order, the court shall order the adult child’s birth certificate to be changed to designate the man as the adult child’s father.
(C) After issuance of an order under this section, the adult child shall be considered the child of the man declared to be the father as if born to him in lawful wedlock, except that the adult child and the adult child’s mother shall not be awarded child support from the man for the time the adult child was a minor.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 10-31-2001
2105.31 Uniform simultaneous death act definitions.
As used in sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code:
(A) “Co-owners with right of survivorship” includes joint tenants, tenants by the entireties, and other co-owners of real or personal property; insurance or other policies; or bank, savings bank, credit union, or other accounts, held under circumstances that entitle one or more persons to the whole of the property or account on the death of the other person or persons.
(B) “Governing instrument” means a deed, will, trust, insurance or annuity policy, account with a transfer-on-death designation or the abbreviation TOD, account with a payable-on-death designation or the abbreviation POD, pension, profit-sharing, retirement, or similar benefit plan, instrument creating or exercising a power of appointment or a power of attorney, or a dispositive, appointive, or nominative instrument of any similar type.
(C) “Payor” means a trustee, insurer, business entity, employer, governmental agency, political subdivision, or any other person authorized or obligated by law or a governing instrument to make payments or transfers.
(D) “Event” includes the death of another person.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002; 04-14-2006
2105.32 Person is deemed to have predeceased another person.
(A) Except as provided in section 2105.36 of the Revised Code, a person who is not established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived another specified person by one hundred twenty hours is deemed to have predeceased the other person for the following purposes:
(1) When the title to real or personal property or the devolution of real or personal property depends upon a person’s survivorship of the death of another person;
(2) When the right to elect an interest in or exempt a surviving spouse’s share of an intestate estate under section 2105.06 of the Revised Code depends upon a person’s survivorship of the death of another person;
(3) When the right to elect an interest in or exempt an interest of the decedent in the mansion house pursuant to section 2106.10 of the Revised Code depends upon a person’s survivorship of the death of another person;
(4) When the right to elect an interest in or exempt an allowance for support pursuant to section 2106.13 of the Revised Code depends upon a person’s survivorship of the death of another person.
(B) This section does not apply if its application would result in a taking of an intestate estate by the state.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
2105.33 Person deemed to have predeceased specified event.
Except as provided in section 2105.36 of the Revised Code, a person who is not established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived a specified event by one hundred twenty hours is deemed to have predeceased the event for purposes of a provision of a governing instrument that relates to the person surviving an event.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
2105.34 Co-owners with right of survivorship.
Except as provided in section 2105.36 of the Revised Code:
(A) If it is not established by clear and convincing evidence that one of two co-owners with right of survivorship in specified real or personal property survived the other co-owner by one hundred twenty hours, that property shall pass as if each person had survived the other person by one hundred twenty hours.
(B) If there are more than two co-owners with right of survivorship in specified real or personal property and it is not established by clear and convincing evidence that at least one of the co-owners survived the others by one hundred twenty hours, that property shall pass in the proportion that each person owns.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
2105.35 Determination and evidence of death.
(A)
(1) A person is dead if the person has been determined to be dead pursuant to standards established under section 2108.30 of the Revised Code.
(2) A physician who makes a determination of death in accordance with section 2108.30 of the Revised Code and any person who acts in good faith in reliance on a determination of death made by a physician in accordance with that section is entitled to the immunity conveyed by that section.
(B) A certified or authenticated copy of a death certificate purporting to be issued by an official or agency of the place where the death of a person purportedly occurred is prima-facie evidence of the fact, place, date, and time of the person’s death and the identity of the decedent.
(C) A certified or authenticated copy of any record or report of a domestic or foreign governmental agency that a person is missing, detained, dead, or alive is prima-facie evidence of the status and of the dates, circumstances, and places disclosed by the record or report.
(D) In the absence of prima-facie evidence of death under division (B) or (C) of this section, the fact of death may be established by clear and convincing evidence, including circumstantial evidence.
(E) Except as provided in division (F) of this section, a presumption of the death of a person arises:
(1) When the person has disappeared and been continuously absent from the person’s place of last domicile for a five-year period without being heard from during the period;
(2) When the person has disappeared and been continuously absent from the person’s place of last domicile without being heard from and was at the beginning of the person’s absence exposed to a specific peril of death, even though the absence has continued for less than a five-year period.
(F) When a person who is on active duty in the armed services of the United States has been officially determined to be absent in a status of “missing” or “missing in action,” a presumption of death arises when the head of the federal department concerned has made a finding of death pursuant to the “Federal Missing Persons Act,” 80 Stat. 625 (1966), 37 U.S.C.A. 551, as amended.
(G) In the absence of evidence disputing the time of death stipulated on a document described in division (B) or (C) of this section, a document described in either of those divisions that stipulates a time of death one hundred twenty hours or more after the time of death of another person, however the time of death of the other person is determined, establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the person survived the other person by one hundred twenty hours.
(H) The provisions of divisions (A) to (G) of this section are in addition to any other provisions of the Revised Code, the Rules of Criminal Procedure, or the Rules of Evidence that pertain to the determination of death and status of a person.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
2105.36 Provisions of governing instrument.
A person who is not established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived another specified person by one hundred twenty hours shall not be deemed to have predeceased the other person if any of the following apply:
(A) The governing instrument contains language dealing explicitly with simultaneous deaths or deaths in a common disaster, and that language is operative under the situation in question.
(B) The governing instrument expressly indicates that a person is not required to survive an event by any specified period in order for any right or interest governed by the instrument to properly vest or transfer.
(C) The governing instrument expressly requires the person to survive the event for a specified period in order for any right or interest governed by the instrument to properly vest or transfer, and the survival of the event by the person or survival of the event by the person for the specified period is established by clear and convincing evidence.
(D) The imposition of a one-hundred-twenty-hour requirement of the person’s survival of the other specified person causes a nonvested property interest or a power of appointment to be invalid under section 2131.08 of the Revised Code, and the person’s survival of the other specified person is established by clear and convincing evidence.
(E) The application of a one-hundred-twenty-hour requirement of survival to multiple governing instruments would result in an unintended failure or duplication of a disposition, and the person’s survival of the other specified person is established by clear and convincing evidence.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
2105.37 Payor or third party not liable.
(A) A payor or other third party is not liable for any of the following:
(1) Making a payment, transferring an item of real or personal property, or otherwise transferring any other benefit to a person designated in a governing instrument who, under sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code, is not entitled to the payment or item of property, if the payment or transfer was made before the payor or other third party received written notice of a claimed lack of entitlement pursuant to sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code;
(2) Taking any other action not specified in division (A)(1) of this section in good faith reliance on the person’s apparent entitlement under the terms of the governing instrument before the payor or other third party received written notice of a claimed lack of entitlement pursuant to sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code.
(B) A payor or other third party is liable for a payment, transfer, or other action taken after the payor or other third party receives written notice of a claimed lack of entitlement pursuant to sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code.
(C) Written notice of a claimed lack of entitlement under divisions (A) or (B) of this section must be mailed to the payor’s or other third party’s main office or home by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or served upon the payor or other third party in the same manner as a summons in a civil action. Upon receipt of written notice of a claimed lack of entitlement pursuant to sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code, a payor or other third party may pay any amount owed or transfer or deposit any item of real or personal property held by it to or with the probate court that has jurisdiction over the decedent’s estate. If no probate proceedings have been commenced, upon receipt of written notice of a claimed lack of entitlement pursuant to sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code, a payor or other third party may pay any amount owed or transfer or deposit any item of real or personal property held by it to or with the probate court located in the county of the decedent’s residence. The court shall hold the funds or real or personal property until it is determined pursuant to sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code to whom the funds or real or personal property should be disbursed. The court then shall order disbursement of the funds or real or personal property in accordance with that determination. Payments, transfers, or deposits made to or with the court discharge the payor or other third party from all claims for the value of amounts paid to or items of property transferred to or deposited with the court.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
2105.38 Effect on bona fide purchaser or transferee for value.
(A) A person who purchases real or personal property that would otherwise be subject to sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code for value and without notice that the person selling or otherwise transferring the real or personal property is not entitled to the real or personal property pursuant to sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code is neither obligated under sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code to return the payment, item of property, or benefit nor liable under sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit.
A person who receives a payment or other item of real or personal property in partial or full satisfaction of a legally enforceable obligation without notice that the person making the payment or otherwise transferring the real or personal property is not entitled to the real or personal property pursuant to sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code is neither obligated under sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code to return the payment, item of property, or benefit nor liable under sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit.
(B) A person who, not for value, receives a payment, item of real or personal property, or any other benefit to which the person is not entitled under sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code is obligated to return the payment, item of real or personal property, or benefit, and is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who is entitled to it under sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code.
(C) If sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code or any provision of sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code are preempted by federal law with respect to a payment, an item of real or personal property, or any other benefit covered by sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code, a person who, not for value, receives the payment, item of property, or any other benefit to which the person is not entitled under sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code is obligated to return the payment, item of property, or benefit, and is personally liable for the amount of the payment or the value of the item of property or benefit, to the person who would have been entitled to it were sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code or any provision of sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code not preempted.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
2105.39 Retroactivity.
(A) Sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code do not impair any act done in any proceeding, or any right that accrued, before May 16, 2002. If a right is acquired, extinguished, or barred upon the expiration of a prescribed period of time that has commenced to run prior to May 16, 2002, under any provision of the Revised Code, the provision of the applicable section of the Revised Code applies with respect to that right.
(B) Any rule of construction or presumption that is provided in sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code applies to any governing instrument that is executed, or any multiple-party account that is opened, prior to May 16, 2002, unless there is a clear indication of a contrary intent in the governing instrument or multiple-party account.
(C) If any provision of sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code or the application of those sections to any persons or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of sections 2105.31 to 2105.39 of the Revised Code that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
Ohio Intestacy Laws (Descent and Distribution); Effective Date: 05-16-2002
[Reference - Ohio Intestacy laws]
.Kansas' Intestacy Laws
- Details
If you die without a valid will while residing in the State of Kansas, you are said to have died "intestate." In order to determine who will receive your property if you die intestate, the State of Kansas has established a number of laws (known as "intestacy laws" or "laws of intestate succession.") The primary statutes comprising these intestacy laws, or laws of intestate succession, are set forth below. For a more complete list, see Kansas Intestacy Laws | Intestate Succession statutes.
Definitions
As used in K.S.A. 59-502 through 59-514, inclusive:
(a) "Children" means biological children, including a posthumous child; children adopted as provided by law; and children whose parentage is or has been determined under the Kansas parentage act or prior law.
(b) "Issue" includes adopted children of deceased children or issue.
Descent of property of intestate resident
Subject to any homestead rights, the allowances provided in K.S.A.59-403, and the payment of reasonable funeral expenses,expenses of last sickness and costs of administration, taxes, and debts, the property of a resident decedent, who dies intestate, shall at the time of death pass by intestate succession as provided in this article.
Kansas Statutes Annotated 59-502
Surviving spouse
If the decedent leaves a spouse and no children nor issue of a previously deceased child, all the decedent's property shall pass to the surviving spouse. If the decedent leaves a spouse and a child, or children, or issue of a previously deceased child or children, one-half of such property shall pass to the surviving spouse.
Kansas Statutes Annotated 59-504
Same; half of realty to surviving spouse
Except as provided further, the surviving spouse shall be entitled to receive one-half of all real estate of which the decedent at any time during the marriage was seized or possessed and to the disposition whereof the survivor shall not have consented in writing, or by a will, or by an election as provided by law to take under a will, except such real estate as has been sold on execution or judicial sale, or taken by other legal proceeding. The surviving spouse shall not be entitled to any interest under the provisions of this section in any real estate of which such decedent in such decedent's lifetime made a conveyance, when such spouse at the time of the conveyance was not a resident of this state and never had been during the existence of the marriage relation. The spouse's entitlement under this section shall be included as part of the surviving spouse's property under K.S.A. 59-6a207, and amendments thereto.
Kansas Statutes Annotated 59-505
Surviving children or issue
If the decedent leaves a child, or children, or issue of a previously deceased child or children, and no spouse, all his or her property shall pass to the surviving child, or in equal shares to the surviving children and the living issue, if any, of a previously deceased child, but such issue shall collectively take only the share their parent would have taken had such parent been living. If the decedent leaves such child, children, or issue, and a spouse, one-half of such property shall pass to such child, children, and issue as aforesaid.
Kansas Statutes Annotated 59-506
No spouse, child or issue, of the decedent
If the decedent leaves no surviving spouse, child, or issue, but leaves a surviving parent or surviving parents, all of his or her property shall pass to such surviving parent, or in equal shares to such surviving parents, but if the decedent is an adopted child such property shall pass to his or her adoptive parent or parents in like manner including a natural parent who is the spouse of an adoptive parent.
Kansas Statutes Annotated 59-507
No spouse, child, issue, or parents
If the decedent leaves no surviving spouse, child, issue, or parents, the respective shares of his or her property which would have passed to the parents, had both of them been living, shall pass to the heirs of such parents respectively (excluding their respective spouses), the same as it would have passed had such parents owned it in equal shares and died intestate at the time of his or her death; but if either of said parents left no such heirs, then and in that event his or her property shall pass to the living heirs of the other parent.
Kansas Statutes Annotated 59-508
Limitation on descent
In computing degrees of relationship by blood for the purpose of the passing of property of an intestate decedent, each generation in the ascending or descending line shall be counted as one degree. None of such property shall pass except by lineal descent to a person further removed from the decedent than the sixth degree, as so computed. In all cases of intestate succession the right of a living person to have the property, or a share of it, pass to him or her, shall be determined as here provided, but the property shall pass immediately from the decedent to the person entitled to receive it.
Kansas Statutes Annotated 59-509
Other intestacy statutes
There are additional statutes pertaining to the distribution of intestate property in the State of Kansas. To view those statutes, please click here.
[Reference - Kansas Intestacy laws]
.If you die without a valid will while residing in the State of Wyoming, you are said to have died "intestate." In order to determine who will receive your property if you die intestate, the State of Wyoming has established a number of laws (known as "intestacy laws" or "laws of intestate succession.") The primary statutes comprising these intestacy laws, or laws of intestate succession, are set forth below. For a more complete list, see Wyoming Intestacy Laws | Intestate Succession statutes.
Wyoming Intestacy Laws, Sec. 2‑4‑101. Rule of descent; generally; dower and curtesy abolished.
(a) Whenever any person having title to any real or personal property having the nature or legal character of real estate or personal estate undisposed of, and not otherwise limited by marriage settlement, dies intestate, the estate shall descend and be distributed in parcenary to his kindred, male and female, subject to the payment of his debts, in the following course and manner:
(i) If the intestate leaves husband or wife and children, or the descendents of any children surviving, one‑half (1/2) of the estate shall descend to the surviving husband or wife, and the residue thereof to the surviving children and descendents of children, as hereinafter limited;
(ii) If the intestate leaves husband or wife and no child nor descendents of any child, then the real and personal estate of the intestate shall descend and vest in the surviving husband or wife.
(A) Repealed by Laws 1985, ch 135
(B) Repealed by Laws 1985, ch 135,
(iii) Repealed by Laws 1985, ch. 135, §2.
(b) Dower and the tenancy by the curtesy are abolished and neither husband nor wife shall have any share in the estate of the other dying intestate, save as herein provided.
(c) Except in cases above enumerated, the estate of any intestate shall descend and be distributed as follows:
(i)To his children surviving, and the descendents of his children who are dead, the descendents collectively taking the share which their parents would have taken if living;
(ii)If there are no children, nor their descendents, then to his father, mother, brothers and sisters, and to the descendents of brothers and sisters who are dead, the descendents collectively taking the share which their parents would have taken if living, in equal parts;
(d) If there are no children nor their descendents, nor father, mother, brothers, sisters, nor descendents of deceased brothers and sisters, nor husband nor wife, living, then to the grandfather, grandmother, uncles, aunts and their descendents, the descendents taking collectively, the share of their immediate ancestors, in equal parts.
Wyoming Intestacy Laws, Sec. 2-4-102. Rule of descent; illegitimate person.
(a) The rule of descent of all property, real and personal, of any illegitimate person dying intestate in this state and leaving property and effects therein, shall be as follows:
(i) To the widow or surviving husband and children, as the property and effects of other persons in like cases;
(ii) If the deceased illegitimate person leaves no children or descendents of a child or children, then the whole estate shall descend to and vest in the widow or surviving husband;
(iii) If the deceased illegitimate person leaves no widow, surviving husband or descendents, his estate shall descend to and vest in the mother and her children, and their descendents, one‑half (1/2) to the mother and the other half to be equally divided between her children and their descendents, the descendents of a child taking the share of the deceased parent or ancestors;
(iv) If the deceased illegitimate person leaves no heirs, as above provided, the estate shall pass to and vest in the next of kin of the mother of such illegitimate person, in the same manner as the estate of a legitimate person would pass by law to the next of kin.
Wyoming Intestacy Laws, Sec. 2-4-103. Posthumous persons.
Persons conceived before the decedent's death but born thereafter inherit as if they had been born in the lifetime of the decedent.
Wyoming Intestacy Laws, Sec. 2-4-104. Kindred of half blood; stepchildren; foster children.
Persons of the half‑blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood, but stepchildren and foster children and their descendents do not inherit.
Wyoming Intestacy Laws, Sec. 2‑4‑105. Alienage not to affect inheritance; exception; burden of proof; when property to escheat to state.
(a) The alienage of the legal heirs shall not invalidate any title to real estate which shall descend or pass from the decedent, except that no nonresident alien who is a citizen of any country foreign to the United States of America, shall by any manner or means acquire real property in this state by succession or testamentary disposition if the laws of the country of which the nonresident alien is a citizen do not allow citizens of the United States of America to take real property by succession or by testamentary disposition.
(b) If a decedent leaves no heirs, devisees or legatees entitled to take real property under the terms of this act, the decedent's property shall escheat to the state of Wyoming as now provided by law for escheat property.
(c) The burden of proof is upon a nonresident alien to establish the existence of reciprocal rights asserted by him.
Wyoming Intestacy Laws, Sec. 2‑4‑106. Divorce not to affect children's rights.
Divorces of husband and wife do not affect the right of children to inherit their property.
Wyoming Intestacy Laws, Sec. 2‑4‑107. Determination of relationship of parent and child.
(a) If for purposes of intestate succession, a relationship of parent and child shall be established to determine succession by, through or from a person:
(i) An adopted person is the child of an adopting parent and of the natural parents for inheritance purposes only. The adoption of a child by the spouse of a natural parent has no effect on the relationship between the child and that natural parent;
(ii)An adopted person shall inherit from all other relatives of an adoptive parent as though he was the natural child of the adoptive parent and the relatives shall inherit from the adoptive person's estate as if they were his relatives;
(iii)In cases not covered by paragraph (i) of this subsection, a person born out of wedlock is a child of the mother. That person is also a child of the father, if the relationship of parent and child has been established under the Uniform Parentage Act, W.S. 14‑2‑401 through 14‑2‑907.
Wyoming Intestacy Laws, Sec. 2‑4‑108. Advancements generally; exceptions; determination.
(a) If a person dies intestate, property which he gave in his lifetime to an heir is treated as an advancement against the latter's share of the estate only if declared in a contemporaneous writing by the decedent or acknowledged in writing by the heir to be an advancement. For this purpose the property advanced is valued as of the time the heir came into possession or enjoyment of the property. If the recipient of the property fails to survive the decedent, the property is not taken into account in computing the intestate share to be received by the recipient's issue, unless the declaration or acknowledgment provides otherwise.
(b) The maintenance, education or supply of money to a minor, without any view to apportion or settlement in life, is not deemed an advancement under this section.
(c) When any heir of the intestate receives in his lifetime any real or personal estate by way of advancement, and the other heirs desire it to be charged to him, the judge shall cite the parties to appear before him, shall hear proof upon the subject, and shall determine the amount of such advancement or advancements to be thus charged.
[Reference - Wyoming Intestacy Laws | Intestate Succession]
If you die without a valid will while residing in the State of Georgia, you are said to have died "intestate." In order to determine who will receive your property if you die intestate, the State of Georgia has established a number of laws (known as "intestacy laws" or "laws of intestate succession.") The primary statutes comprising these intestacy laws, or laws of intestate succession, are set forth below. For a more complete list, see Georgia Intestacy Laws | Intestate Succession statutes.
Rules of inheritance when decedent dies without will
(a) For purposes of this Code section:
(1) Children of the decedent who are born after the decedent's death are considered children in being at the decedent's death, provided they were conceived prior to the decedent's death, were born within ten months of the
decedent's death, and survived 120 hours or more after
birth; and
(2) The half-blood, whether on the maternal or paternal side, are considered equally with the whole-blood, so that the children of any common parent are treated as brothers and sisters to each other.
(b) When a decedent died without a will, the following rules
shall determine such decedent's heirs:
(1) Upon the death of an individual who is survived by a spouse but not by any child or other descendant, the spouse is the sole heir. If the decedent is also survived by any child or other descendant, the spouse shall share equally with the children, with the descendants of any deceased child taking that child's share, per stirpes; provided, however, that the spouse's portion shall not be less than a one-third share;
(2) If the decedent is not survived by a spouse, the heirs shall be those relatives, as provided in this Code section, who are in the nearest degree to the decedent in which there is any survivor;
(3) Children of the decedent are in the first degree, and those who survive the decedent shall share the estate equally, with the descendants of any deceased child taking, per stirpes, the share that child would have taken if in life;
(4) Parents of the decedent are in the second degree, and those who survive the decedent shall share the estate equally;
(5) Siblings of the decedent are in the third degree, and those who survive the decedent shall share the estate equally, with the descendants of any deceased sibling taking, per stirpes, the share that sibling would have taken if in life; provided, however, that, subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of subsection (f) of Code Section 53-1-20, if no sibling survives the decedent, the nieces and nephews who survive the decedent shall take the estate in equal shares, with the descendants of any deceased niece or nephew taking, per stirpes, the share that niece or nephew would have taken if in life;
(6) Grandparents of the decedent are in the fourth degree, and those who survive the decedent shall share the estate equally;
(7) Uncles and aunts of the decedent are in the fifth degree, and those who survive the decedent shall share the estate equally, with the children of any deceased uncle or aunt taking, per stirpes, the share that uncle or aunt would have taken if in life; provided, however, that, subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of subsection (f) of Code Section 53-1-20, if no uncle or aunt of the decedent survives the decedent, the first cousins who survive the decedent shall share the estate equally; and
(8) The more remote degrees of kinship shall be determined by counting the number of steps in the chain from the relative to the closest common ancestor of the relative and decedent and the number of steps in the chain from the common ancestor to the decedent. The sum of the steps in the two chains shall be the degree of kinship, and the surviving relatives with the lowest sum shall be in the nearest degree and shall share the estate equally.
Georgia Intestacy Laws, Code Sec. 53-2-1
Inheritance by children born out of wedlock and their offspring
(a) Children born out of wedlock have no inheritable blood except that given to them by express law.
(b) A child born out of wedlock may inherit in the same manner as if legitimate from and through his mother, from and through the other children of his mother, and from and through any other maternal kin, whether collateral or lineal.
(c) (1) A child born out of wedlock may not inherit from or through his father or any paternal kin by reason of the paternal kinship unless, during the lifetime of the father and after the conception of the child:
(A) A court of competent jurisdiction has entered an order declaring the child to be legitimate, under the authority of Code Section 19-7-22 or such other authority as may be provided by law;
(B) A court of competent jurisdiction has otherwise entered a court order establishing the father of the child born out of wedlock;
(C) The father executed a sworn statement signed by him attesting to the parent-child relationship;
(D) The father signed the birth certificate of the child; or
(E) There is clear and convincing evidence that the child is the child of the father and that the father intended for the child to share in the father's intestate estate in the same manner in which the child would have shared if legitimate.
(2) (A) Paragraph (1) of this subsection notwithstanding, a child born out of wedlock may inherit from or through his father or any paternal kin by reason of the paternal kinship if evidence of the presumption of paternity described in this Code section is filed with the court before which proceedings on the estate shall be pending and the presumption is not overcome to the satisfaction of the trier of fact by clear and convincing evidence.
(B) There shall exist a rebuttable presumption of paternity of a child born out of wedlock if there shall have been performed, after the conception of the child, parentage-determination genetic testing which establishes at least a 97 percent probability of paternity. Parentage-determination genetic testing shall include, but not be necessarily limited to, red cell antigen, human leucocyte antigen (HLA), red cell enzyme, and serum protein (electrophoresis) tests or testing by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) probes.
(3) If one of the requirements of subparagraphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (1) of this subsection is fulfilled, or if the presumption of paternity set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection shall have been established and shall not have been rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, a child born out of wedlock may inherit in the same manner as if legitimate from and through his father, from and through the other children of his father, and from and through any other paternal kin, whether collateral or lineal.
(d) In distributions under this Code section, the children of a deceased child born out of wedlock shall represent the deceased parent.
Georgia Intestacy Laws, Code Sec. 53-4-4
Inheritance from children born out of wedlock
(a) The mother of a child born out of wedlock, the other children of the mother, and other maternal kin may inherit from and through the child born out of wedlock in the same manner as though the child were legitimate.
(b) The father of a child born out of wedlock, the other children of the father, and other paternal kin may inherit from and through the child born out of wedlock in the same manner as if the child were legitimate if:
(1) A court of competent jurisdiction has entered an order declaring the child to be legitimate under the authority of Code Section 19-7-22 or such other authority as may be provided by law;
(2) A court of competent jurisdiction has otherwise entered a court order establishing paternity;
(3) The father has, during the lifetime of the child, executed a sworn statement signed by the father attesting to the parent-child relationship;
(4) The father has, during the lifetime of the child, signed the birth certificate of the child; or
(5) The presumption of paternity described in division (2)(B)(ii) of Code Section 53-2-3 has been established and has not been rebutted by clear and convincing evidence.
Georgia Intestacy Laws, Code Sec. 53-2-4
Children conceived by artificial insemination
An individual conceived by artificial insemination and presumed legitimate in accordance with Code Section 19-7-21 shall be considered a child of the parents and entitled to inherit under the laws of intestacy from the parents and from relatives of the parents, and the parents and relatives of the parents shall likewise be entitled to inherit as heirs from and through such individual.
Georgia Intestacy Laws, Code Sec. 53-2-5
Individual related to decedent through two or more lines of relationship
An individual who is related to the decedent through two or more lines of relationship is entitled to only a single share based on the relationship entitling that individual to the largest share under the laws of intestacy.
Georgia Intestacy Laws, Code Sec. 53-2-6
Vesting of title to property; right to possession
(a) Upon the death of an intestate decedent who is the owner of any interest in real property, the title to any such interest which survives the intestate decedent shall vest immediately in the decedent's heirs at law, subject to divestment by the appointment of an administrator of the estate.
(b) The title to all other property owned by an intestate decedent shall vest in the administrator of the estate for the benefit of the decedent's heirs and creditors.
(c) Upon the appointment of an administrator, the title to any interest in real property which survives the intestate decedent shall vest in the administrator for the benefit of the heirs and creditors of the decedent, and title to such property shall not revest in the heirs until the administrator assents to such revesting. For purposes of this Code section, the assent of the administrator shall be proved in the manner set out in Code Section 53-8-15.
(d) Upon the appointment of an administrator, the right to the possession of the whole estate is in the administrator, and, as long as administration continues, the right to recover possession of the estate from all other persons is solely in the administrator. The administrator may recover possession of any part of the estate from the heirs at law or purchasers from them; but, in order to recover real property, it is necessary for the administrator to show, upon the trial, either that the property which is the subject of the action has been in the administrator’s possession and without the administrator’s consent is held by the defendant at the time of bringing the action or that it is necessary for the administrator to have possession for the purpose of paying the debts, making a proper distribution, or for other purposes provided for by law. An order for sale or distribution, granted by the judge of the probate court after notice to the defendant, shall be conclusive evidence of either fact.
(e) If an order has been entered under Code Section 53-2-41 that no administration is necessary, or if the administrator has assented to the vesting of title in the heirs, the heirs may take possession of the property or may sue for possession of the property in their own right.
Georgia Intestacy Laws, Code Sec. 53-2-7
Death intestate, and without ascertainable heirs, of spouse of intestate decedent
(a) When the spouse of an intestate decedent dies intestate and without ascertainable heirs within six months of the decedent's death, any undistributed property of the decedent to which the spouse had been entitled prior to the spouse's death shall not escheat but shall be distributed to the heirs of the decedent who would have inherited the property under the intestacy laws if the spouse had predeceased the decedent.
(b) The nonexistence of heirs of the spouse may be determined by publication as provided in Code Section 53-2-51. If no heir of the spouse appears, the property, less the expenses of the proceedings to determine the nonexistence of heirs, shall be paid over as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section.
Georgia Intestacy Laws, Code Sec. 53-2-8
Definition
As used in this article, the term "escheat" is the reversion of property to the state upon a failure of heirs of a decedent to appear and make claim for or against property owned by the decedent at death for which no other disposition was provided either by will or otherwise.
Georgia Intestacy Laws, Code Sec. 53-2-50
Procedure
(a) If no person has appeared and claimed to be an heir within four years from the date letters of any kind on an intestate decedent's estate were granted, the personal representative shall petition the probate court of the county in which the letters were granted for determination that property has escheated to the state. Such a petition shall set forth the full name of the decedent, the date of death, the fact that no person has appeared and claimed to be an heir, and the property of the estate which may have escheated to the state.
(b) Upon filing of the petition, the probate court shall issue a citation as provided Chapter 11 of this title, requiring the heirs, if any, to file any objection to the petition by a date that is at least 60 days from the date of the citation, and shall order notice by publication to all heirs of the decedent as provided in Code Section 53-11-4.
(c) If no individual files objection as an heir who is entitled to the property on or before the date set in the citation, the court shall order the property to be paid over and distributed to the county board of education to become a part of the educational fund.
(d) If an individual files objection as an heir who is entitled to property, such claim shall be tried as other actions before the court. In such case, no property shall be paid over or distributed to the county board of education until the claim is determined in such manner as to establish that any individual making the claim is not entitled to the property.
(e) When property is paid over or distributed to a county board of education, the administration of the estate shall be terminated following a final return and the granting of a petition for discharge.
(f) The proceedings shall be conclusive upon and shall bind all the heirs of the estate.
(g) All expenses incurred in the administration of such proceedings shall be paid from the property or proceeds of the estate.
Georgia Intestacy Laws, Code Sec. 53-2-51
[Georgia Intestacy Laws | Intestate Succession]
If you die without a valid will while residing in the State of Wisconsin, you are said to have died "intestate." In order to determine who will receive your property if you die intestate, the State of Wisconsin has established a number of laws (known as "intestacy laws" or "laws of intestate succession.") The primary statutes comprising these intestacy laws, or laws of intestate succession, are set forth below. For a more complete list, see Wisconsin Intestacy Laws | Intestate Succession statutes.
Wisconsin Intestacy Laws, Sec. 852.01- Basic rules for intestate succession.
(1) Who are heirs. Except as modified by the decedent's will under s. 852.10 (1), any part of the net estate of a decedent that is not disposed of by will passes to the decedent's surviving heirs as follows:
(a) To the spouse:
1. If there are no surviving issue of the decedent, or if the surviving issue are all issue of the surviving spouse and the decedent, the entire estate.
2. If there are surviving issue one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, one-half of decedent's property other than the following property:
a. The decedent's interest in marital property.
b. The decedent's interest in property held equally and exclusively with the surviving spouse as tenants in common.
(b) To the issue, per stirpes, the share of the estate not passing to the spouse under par. (a), or the entire estate if there is no surviving spouse.
(c) If there is no surviving spouse or issue, to the parents.
(d) If there is no surviving spouse, issue or parent, to the brothers and sisters and the issue of any deceased brother or sister per stirpes.
(f) If there is no surviving spouse, issue, parent or issue of a parent, to the grandparents and their issue as follows:
1. One-half to the maternal grandparents equally if both survive, or to the surviving maternal grandparent; if both maternal grandparents are deceased, to the issue of the maternal grandparents or either of them, per stirpes.
2. One-half to the paternal relations in the same manner as to the maternal relations under subd. 1.
3. If either the maternal side or the paternal side has no surviving grandparent or issue of a grandparent, the entire estate to the decedent's relatives on the other side.
(2) Survivorship requirement. Survivorship under sub. (1) is determined as provided in s. 854.03.
(2m) Heir who kills decedent. If a person under sub. (1) killed the decedent, the inheritance rights of that person are governed by s. 854.14.
(3) Escheat. If there are no heirs of the decedent under subs. (1) and (2), the net estate escheats to the state to be added to the capital of the school fund.
Wisconsin Intestacy Laws, Sec. 852.03 - Related rules.
(1) Per stirpes. If per stirpes distribution is called for under s. 852.01 (1) (b), (d) or (f), the rules under s. 854.04 apply.
(3) Relatives of the half blood. Inheritance rights of relatives of the half blood are governed by s. 854.21 (4).
(4) Posthumous heirs. Inheritance rights of a person specified in s. 852.01 (1) who was born after the death of the decedent are governed by s. 854.21 (5).
(5) Related through 2 lines. Inheritance rights of a person who is related to the decedent through 2 lines of relationship are governed by s. 854.21 (6).
(6) Taking through or by alien. No person is disqualified from taking as an heir because the person or a person through whom he or she claims is not or at some time was not a U.S. citizen. The rights of an alien to acquire or hold land in the state are governed by ss. 710.01 to 710.03.
Wisconsin Intestacy Laws, Sec. 852.05- Status of child born to unmarried parents for purposes of intestate succession.
(1) A child born to unmarried parents, or the child's issue, is treated in the same manner as a child, or the issue of a child, born to married parents with respect to intestate succession from and through the child's mother, and from and through the child's father if any of the following applies:
(a) The father has been adjudicated to be the father in a paternity proceeding under ch. 767 or by final order or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in another state.
(b) The father has admitted in open court that he is the father.
(c) The father has acknowledged himself to be the father in writing signed by him.
(2) Property of a child born to unmarried parents passes in accordance with s. 852.01 except that the father or the father's kindred can inherit only if the father has been adjudicated to be the father in a paternity proceeding under ch. 767 or by final order or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in another state or has been determined to be the father under s. 767.805 or a substantially similar law of another state.
(3)
(a) This section does not apply to a child who becomes a marital child by the subsequent marriage of the child's parents under s. 767.803.
(b) The status of a child born to unmarried parents who is legally adopted is governed by s. 854.20.
(4) Section 895.01 (1) applies to paternity proceedings under ch. 767.
Wisconsin Intestacy Laws, Sec. 852.09- Assignment of home to surviving spouse.
If the intestate estate includes an interest in a home, assignment of that interest to the surviving spouse is governed by s. 861.21.
Wisconsin Intestacy Laws, Sec. 852.10 - Disinheritance from intestate share.
(1) A decedent's will may exclude or limit the right of an individual or class to succeed to property passing by intestate succession.
(2) The share of the intestate estate that would have passed to the individual or class described in sub. (1) passes as if the individual or each member of the class had disclaimed his or her intestate share under s. 854.13.
(3) This section does not apply if the individual or all members of the class described in sub. (1) predecease the testator.
Wisconsin Intestacy Laws, Sec. 852.11- Advancement.
The effect of a lifetime gift by the decedent on the intestate share of an heir is governed by s. 854.09.
Wisconsin Intestacy Laws, Sec. 852.12- Debts to decedent.
If an heir owes a debt to the decedent, s. 854.12 governs the treatment of that debt.
Wisconsin Intestacy Laws, Sec. 852.13- Right to disclaim intestate share.
Any person to whom property would otherwise pass under s. 852.01 may disclaim all or part of the property as provided under s. 854.13.
[Reference - Wisconsin Intestacy Laws | Intestate Succession]
.
