AVOIDING INTESTACY: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
What is Intestacy?
The word originates in the Latin “in testatus,” meaning no witness. It means you die without a written asset distribution plan, called a will. If you die without a will, you die intestate.
What are the Pitfalls of Intestacy?
If you as a resident of New Jersey die without a will, the state will distribute your assets according to its intestacy laws.
How do New Jersey Intestacy laws Require My Assets to Be Distributed?
What happens to your spouse or domestic partner?
If you die without a will in New Jersey, your surviving spouse or domestic partner will get 100% of your estate if:
You have no surviving parent, child, or other descendant; or
If all of your surviving descendants are also descended from your spouse/domestic partner.
If your parent survives you, your spouse/partner will get the first 25%, no less than $50,000.00 and no more than $200,000.00, plus three-quarters of your estate balance.
If all your surviving descendants are also those of your spouse/domestic partner and that person has one or more surviving descendants who are not your descendants, or if one or more of your surviving descendants is not a descendant of your surviving spouse /domestic partner, your spouse or domestic partner will receive the first 25%, but not less than $50,000.00 nor more than $200,000.00, plus one-half of the balance of your estate.
What happens to your other survivors?
If you have no surviving spouse /domestic partner or there is a balance of your estate once that person is provided for, your estate passes to:
Your descendants;
Your parents equally if you have no descendants;
The descendants of your parents if you have no living parents or descendants;
Your surviving grandparents or their descendants if there are no living parents, descendants, or descendants of parents;
Your other relatives if there are no surviving grandparents.
Your stepchildren or their descendants if there are no surviving relatives.
How Can I Avoid Intestacy?
You can easily avoid intestacy by having a will and other estate documents drawn up for you by an experienced attorney.