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Intestacy Laws
"Intestacy" refers to any person who dies
without a valid Will, as well as to any of the deceased's property which
does not have instructions for its ownership.
Without a
valid Will,
Connecticut laws control who receives your property at death, as well as the
exact amount
that is given to each person.
These
"Intestacy Laws" are an attempt to distribute each person's property
in the manner that it
is believed most people would prefer, which is typically to the most closely
related living family members.
However, these laws are merely an assumption and the same distribution
pattern is applied
to all intestate property.
Married Couples
Many married
couples assume that each spouse's individually owned property will automatically
belong to the surviving spouse if either of them dies without a Will.
In actuality, these laws provide the surviving spouse with as little as
one-half of the deceased spouse's estate if the deceased has just one
Child, Grandchild, or even a Great-Grandchild and the surviving spouse is not
also the parent of every child or is
not also a grandparent to every grandchild.
Specific Examples | Click
Here >>
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Married Example
Assume that John, who is married to Susan, has
recently died with a $500,000 estate,
but without a Will.
John
and Susan never had any children. However, John had a child by a former
relationship, named Jane.
Although many people would assume that John's wife Susan is entitled to the
entire $500,000 of John's estate, she will in fact receive just $250,000.
Without a valid Will directing otherwise, John's
daughter Jane is entitled to receive the remaining $250,000 according to
Connecticut's Intestacy Laws.
Also note that John's personal relationship with Jane
or custody of Jane are not considered. Jane may also be wealthier than Susan, but these laws still grant Jane a portion of
John's estate simply because he did not have
a Will.
More Examples | Click Here >>
Connecticut Intestacy
Calculator
The previous example, and many other possible scenarios,
are shown by our exclusive Intestacy Calculator.
Choosing different family scenarios can often
produce interesting and unanticipated results.
For instance, if Jane was John and Susan's
child in the above example, Susan would still receive just $300,000 of the
$500,000 estate.
Our exclusive Intestacy Calculator evaluates
each of your answers to determine whether more information is needed and, if
so, which questions must be asked. With sufficient information, the
Intestacy Calculator automatically provides a summary of the dollar value
assigned to each person according to Connecticut's Intestacy Laws.
As you work through different fact patterns, you
may reset the calculator and begin again. Providing different answers
to the questions will produce different results.
You may freely use our Intestacy Calculator,
without any obligation, and learn about the many possibilities for the
distribution of an intestate estate under Connecticut's Intestacy Laws. Of
course, you cannot substitute this information for the advice of an
attorney.
Open the Intestacy Calculator
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