Sign In. Rules of Inheritance Heirs at Law The following outline is a summary of the Georgia law that determines who are heirs at law of a decedent the person whose death necessitates the administration of his or her estate.
The heirs are: The spouse if there are no children and no children who died before the decedent leaving living children of their own or descendants of living children The spouse and children if there are children, and the children of any child or children who died before the decedent as well as the deceased child's descendants if any of the deceased child's children also predeceased the decedent The parents if there is no spouse or children, descendants of deceased children, grandchildren, etc.
If no spouse, children, descendants of children, or parents survived the decedent, the brothers and sisters of the decedent and the descendants of any deceased brother or sister who predeceased the decedent If none of the above were living at decedent's death, the grandparents If none of the above, uncles and aunts and descendants of any deceased uncle or aunt, but if all uncles and aunts are deceased, then first cousins share equally, rather than siblings taking their parent's share The more remote degrees of kinship are determined by a mathematical formula involving the relative in question and the closest common ancestor.
There are many reasons that go beyond inheritance why having a last will and testament in place is a good idea. But if you'd rather give your assets to someone other than your heirs, check all your financial accounts to ensure you've made your beneficiary designations and then make an appointment with an estate or family law attorney to iron out all of your last wishes. To schedule an appointment, call 8 ext. Insurance products are offered through LPL or its licensed affiliates.
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Moreover, Hanscom Federal Credit Union's privacy policies do not apply to any of the linked websites within this blog. Please consult the privacy disclosures on those linked sites for further information. Filter by Category. Generally, the decedent's next of kin—closest family members related by blood—are first in line to inherit as heirs, but state laws determine who is considered next of kin and the order in which they inherit.
If you don't have a will, it is especially important to understand what will happen to your estate upon your death. In the rare instance that no next of kin is found, your hard-earned assets may even end up in the state's hands. Your next of kin relatives are your children, parents, and siblings, or other blood relations. Since next of kin describes a blood relative, a spouse doesn't fall into that definition.
Still, if you have a surviving spouse, they are first in line to inherit your estate if you die without a will. Sometimes the spouse may even inherit the entirety of the estate , especially if you also have no surviving children or parents. Your next of kin may extend further down your bloodline, particularly if you have no surviving spouse or children. Next, come parents and then siblings.
State law varies but, generally, further next of kin include:. The "great" generations also may inherit under some state intestacy laws—great-grandchildren, great-grandparents, and great-aunts and great-uncles. If there are no other surviving heirs, cousins may inherit as well.
Note that if your next of kin is a minor, the probate court generally will appoint a conservator to oversee the management of assets until the children reach the age of majority. Children adopted legally are considered heirs under next of kin laws, which make no distinction between biological and adopted relations. So if the deceased has an adopted child and a biological child, they are treated exactly the same. If the deceased person was adopted into a family, the adoptive family members are considered next of kin, just as if they were biologically related.
If someone dies without a will , the probate court appoints an administrator to distribute the assets and close out the estate. Usually, this person is next of kin, such as a spouse or child. After receiving a letter of administration called " letter of testamentary " if there is a will , the administrator pays off the deceased's debts and handles the paperwork to transfer assets according to state intestacy laws.
The next of kin may need a next of kin affidavit, a notarized document that establishes the heirs to estate property. Depending on the jurisdiction, this affidavit may be sufficient to transfer some types of property legally to the heir; real property, however, usually requires further documentation to transfer ownership. Proving who is next of kin requires proof of identity such as a birth certificate or government-issued photo identification.
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