Relative leaves no will what happens to estate.?

Question

What happens when a relative who owns property dies without leaving a will. What must the relatives do by law regarding the properties. Do they have to be sold.

Answer 1

just let my sister have it. she kept mums house to herself even though her will stated otherwise.

Answer 2

If English Law applies, the Intestacy Rules come into play. This means that an executor is appointed - the death has to be advertised and all of those believing they have a legal claim on the estate must state their claim to the executors. The rules then state in order of preference those types of relatives and/or dependants that have the greater claim and the estate is divided accordingly. A sale would not automatically be enforced but if the estate is over the threshold for inheritance tax and there is no other way of meeting the tax bill, the property would have to be sold to pay the tax.

In the event that no beneficiaries are found then the whole of the estate would have to revert to the Crown.

Answer 3

They should open succession on the property. Many folks in Chalmette, LA are learning that the hard way. After Katrina and trying to rebuild, we have found that if the property owner did not have a will then the logical step was succession, else chaos would ensue within the family. LA's Napoleonic laws dictate that the surviving children equally share the property of a deceased parent. However, succession is the most judicial & equitable way to ensure all children, legitimate & illegitimate, are properly represented in the division of a deceased's property.

However, some states also employ "By law". Which transfers the property to the next surviving relative. This process can be quite convulted, especially when you can not locate relatives.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Normally the state will appoint an executor and sell then distribute the assets as the state feels is appropriate in probate court. Each state normally has a pre-set list of beneficiaries if there is no will, for example 25% to the wife, 25% to each child, if no children then equal split among the surviving siblings, whatever.

You should contact an estate attorney where you live and explain the circumstances, have a list ready of the assets and the possible recipients of the estate proceeds. He'll be able to tell you what can or can't happen really quick.

Answer 5

Having just had to sort out the Estate of my late brother who passed away intestate (without a will) I can tell you exactly what happens.
Firstly let me just say that some of the terms used differ compared to when there is a will...the word probate is altered to the phrase "Letters of Administration" (they really both mean the same thing).
The word "executor" is changed to "administrator".
Anyone in the family can take on the role as administrator or a solicitor can be appointed if no one in the family wishes to take on the job.
No.. the properties do not have to be sold if there is enough cash to meet any inheritance tax liability there may or may not be...infact because the Estate is initially frozen, no one initially is either able to nor has the legal right to sell the properties until letters of administration are granted & the rightful inheritor & therefore legal owner has been established/ proven. I can tell you that it was not easy keeping my late brother's properties going, with his Estate frozen for 6 months & with no legal ownership or authority over the properties until everything had been sorted out.
Whilst the Estate is frozen, enquiries & advertisements to prove various things eg that a will does not exist anywhere, that all debtors & creditors have been accounted for & various other things which have to be done before the Estate can be valued for taxation purposes. Also, who the rightful inheritor is, has to be established & proven. My brother was divorced but believe it or not, I had to prove that he never remarried!..I had to swear to it (affit davit or whatever it's called). When all this & other boring stuff including the valuation of the Estate being accepted as true & fair by the Taxation Office, has been done, then Letters of Administration can be granted (similar to probate being granted).
When it is granted, the Estate is unfrozen & the proven rightful inheritor receives the money &/or property. The inheritor is the proven next of kin. If there is no proven next of kin the money/property goes to the Government. (Obviously in this case the property will be sold)
The enquiries etc which I mentioned before, have to be given a acceptable amount of time for it to be considered that all reasonable measures & time have been taken to ascertain all matters pertaining to the Estate & any claims on it....So one can expect to wait about 6 months before Letters of Administration are granted & the inheritor can inherit.
Then it is possible to sell property if it needs to be sold inorder to meet any inheritance tax liability which can't be paid in cash.
If the sale value exceeds the valuation made for inheritance tax purposes then it will be a question of arguing that the initial valuation was not too low & that the additional value is due to & should be treated as capital gains due to increased value over the passage of time. Capital Gains Tax is a lower tax rate than Inheritance Tax...but I won't bore you anymore ...especially with that!
All I would say is that estates of someone who dies intestate are a total nightmare to sort out.

Answer 6

Without a valid Will you cannot control who will inherit your property after your death. Should you die intestate (without a Will ), your property will be distributed according to law, which is likely to be inconsistent with your wishes. In some cases your estate may go to the Crown instead of the people you want to benefit. Look up www.lawpack.co.uk web site

Answer 7

Each state has its own laws for intestate succession (property distribution without a will). The probate court will apply those laws, and appoint an executor to give the property to the relevant heirs at law. Where property needs to be split, the executor will usually sell it, but can often allow heirs to purchase it for fair market value.

Answer 8

and also added to the above comment, the wife will get all the inheritence, if no wife it is split between children

if the estate comes to more than £125'000 (i think thats what it was but u would have to check to make sure) then the wife gets that, but the remainder goes into a sorta pot to be split between children when she passes away (or husband if the wife goes first - or same sex married partners these days)

got to citizens advice bureau for free general advice as to executors and intestacy

Answer 9

its called intestate when hey die without a will ,the nearest blood relative inherits and if thers more then one then your all equal unless someone assumes the mortgage taxes etc then that one gets a greater share based on their involvment and no youy dont have to sell and if all else fails then one or more family members can put it into probate wher a judge decides who gets what contact a real estate lawyer

Answer 10

Properties will probably be sold and the money will be split.