Understanding Intestacy Laws and Asset Distribution

The video tutorial explains intestacy, which occurs when someone dies without a will. It covers how state laws determine asset distribution, introduces key terms like decedent, issue, and ascendants, and describes basic and complex scenarios. The tutorial also explains three intestacy regimes: per capita, per stirpes, and by representation, highlighting how each affects asset distribution among descendants.

What is the term used for a person who has passed away without a will?

• Testator

• Beneficiary

• Decedent

• Executor

In the absence of a will, who typically inherits the assets if there is a surviving spouse but no children?

• The state

• The spouse

• The parents

• The siblings

If a person dies intestate with no spouse or children, who is next in line to inherit?

• The siblings

• The aunts and uncles

• The parents

• The grandparents

Which approach to intestacy law distributes assets equally among all living descendants at the same generational level?

• Per annum

• By representation

• Per capita

• Per stirpes

In the per stirpes approach, how are assets distributed if a child of the decedent has predeceased them?

• To the deceased child's descendants

• To the state

• To the surviving children only

• Equally among all grandchildren

How does the by representation approach differ from per stirpes?

• It combines the shares of predeceased children and redistributes them equally among all descendants.

• It distributes assets only to the spouse.

• It gives all assets to the oldest living descendant.

• It ignores the generational level of descendants.

Which intestacy approach might result in a different distribution outcome compared to per capita and per stirpes?

• Per annum

• By representation

• Per diem

• Per capita