In this episode, Tim shares details about the default plan that the state already has in place for your assets if you die without a Will.
Podcast transcript:
WRVO Producer Mark Lavonier:
This podcast is part of the series Estate Planning Pro Tips, hosted by attorney Tim Crisafulli of Crisafulli Estate Planning and Elder Law PC an estate planning probate and elder law firm serving clients throughout central New York. A former school teacher, Tim explains complex legal subjects in an easy-to-understand way. The commentary focuses on the central aspects of estate planning, such as Wills, trusts, asset protection, long-term care, and probate. And now here's Tim.
Tim Crisafulli:
54% of Americans have no Will in place. I found that statistic on the internet, so it must be true. Actually, knowing my audience to be the NPR crowd, I did a little better. That statistic comes from a Gallup poll from 2021. Whether you'd find it to be good news or bad news if you don't create your own Will, the state in which you reside creates a default plan for you, and it's called the rules of intestacy. In New York, if a person dies without a Will, then anything owned outright by the decedent for which there is no designated beneficiary will pass as follows. First, if the decedent has a spouse and no children, then the spouse inherits everything. Second, if the decedent has children but no spouse, then the children inherit everything equally. Third, if the decedent has a spouse and children, then the spouse inherits the first 50,000 plus half of the balance and the children inherit everything else equally. In all cases, if an adult child dies before a decedent and that predeceased adult child leaves behind children, then those grandchildren would step up into the dead adult child's place to inherit. For example, if Prince Charles had died before Queen Elizabeth II, then whatever Prince Charles would have inherited would be equally divided among his children Prince William and Prince Harry. Now it gets interesting. If a decedent has no spouse and no children, then the decedent's parents inherit. Next in line are siblings, then nieces and nephews, then first cousins, then first cousins once removed. By then, it appears the state got tired and decided it was just going to take it from there. Literally, if a person dies with no spouse, no kids, no living parents, no living siblings, no living nieces, nephews, no living first cousins and no living first cousins once removed, then the decedent's assets do something called Ishita to the state, which means they become the property of the state. So there you have it. Most Americans have no Will. If you die without a Will, the state has a plan of intestacy in place for you, and the state is the ultimate taker. If you have no next of kin and a close enough degree of kinship.
