Walk It Through: The Estate with No Will
A death without a will, a spouse and children from two marriages, probate court, and a small estate.
A parent dies with no will, leaving a spouse and two children from an earlier marriage.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
An estate without a will. A will and the elective share, real property, and an estate spread over several states are on their own pages.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Self-proved willA will the maker acknowledges and the witnesses swear to before an officer authorized to give oaths, certified under official seal.
- Elective shareWhat a surviving spouse may take instead of what the will leaves: the lesser of one-third of the estate, or all of it reduced by the spouse's own separate estate.
- IntestateDying without a will, when the estate passes by statute, with the surviving spouse's share set by the children and parents left behind.