Is there a law that determines how an estate gets divided up?
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Is there a law that determines how an estate gets divided up?
Cannot locate law stating how a personal representative divides small estate between beneficiaries in informal probate; no will. Is it automatically divided equally?
Asked on December 9, 2010 under Estate Planning, Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
When there is no will, a decedent's (deceased person's) belongings are divided up according to what's known as "intestate succession." Intestate succession can be complex, though it is formulaic; by that, I mean there are rules who gets how much, which rules depend on the relationship of the survivors to the deceased. Everyone does not get things equally, unless they are all of equal relationship (e.g. the only survivors are the deceased's children). Below is a link to the Arizona statutes containing intestate succession rules; you should look under Article 1 of Chapter 2 and apply the rules thereunder to find out who gets how much. The biggest kicker is usually if there's a surviving spouse; a suriving spouse gets the lion's share.
Here's the link: http://www.azleg.state.az.us/arizonarevisedstatutes.asp?title=14
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