Pld Pi 001

"If a person dies intestate, the property is divided in equal shares among all the legal heirs. The authority issues a notice, seeking any claims on the property to be distributed among legal heirs, after the death certificate is issued.

Draw lots and take turns picking items. Use colored stickers for each person to indicate what he wants. Get appraisals. Make copies. Use an online service like FairSplit.com to catalog and divide personal property in an estate.

Property held in joint tenancy, tenancy by the entirety, or community property with right of survivorship automatically passes to the survivor when one of the original owners dies. Real estate, bank accounts, vehicles, and investments can all pass this way. No probate is necessary to transfer ownership of the property.

In most cases, your property is distributed in split shares to your "heirs," which could include your surviving spouse, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, nieces, nephews, and distant relatives. Generally, when no relatives can be found, the entire estate goes to the state.

Can an executor dispose of assets before probate is complete? That answer is simple: no. The executor will have to wait until the probate process is over before disposing of assets.

If you die without one, you cede control to the state where you lived. Its laws will determine who your heirs will be and the state will choose the executor of your estate. While inheritance laws differ from state to state, they generally favor spouses, registered domestic partners and blood relatives as heirs.

However, in the case of death of a spouse, the property can only be transferred in two ways. One is through partition deed or settlement deed in case no will or testament is created by the deceased spouse. And second is through the will deed executed by the person before his/her last death.

Every state has their own established intestate process that determines whether a person's assets will be given to their spouse, children, parents or siblings. When someone dies without a will, their assets are frozen until the court system combs through every detail of their estate.