When someone dies without a Will, what claim do the surviving spouse and children have?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
When someone dies without a Will, what claim do the surviving spouse and children have?
Died in NM; property in KS. Property is being transferred. Children have been asked to sign quitclaim. Do they have any right to a share of the proceeds?
Asked on August 16, 2011 New Mexico
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your loss. I am a little confused about the status of your parent's estate here. And where exactly was your parent's residency at the time of their death? Intestacy laws are written so that when a person dies without a Will the Court has a plan for division of property, so to speak. States vary on how they divide the intestate's estate when there are a spouse and children left. In Kansas, for example, the Wife gets 50% of the estate and 50% of the real estate. The children divide the rest equally. Here is that statute:
http://www.mystatewill.com/statutes/ks_law.htm
Property held as husband and wife does not go through the estate but it sounds here as if your parent held the property alone, which is why you are being asked to sign a quit claim deed. But honestly, you should probably not be signing anything without an attorney looking at it. The whole transaction does not sound right. Please get help. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.