Life Insurance Company in Montgomery: What Determines Who Receives Your Assets When You Die?

Making arrangements for your estate includes deciding who will inherit your possessions after you pass away. Obviously, you have to make sure that your wishes are carried out, which requires understanding what influences who inherit your possessions. The following blog contains answers provided by a life insurance company in Montgomery that clarifies the distribution of assets and property.

Life Insurance Company in Montgomery: Who Gets Your Estates After You Die?

1.    Lack of a Will

This is the most obvious scenario in which you die without having made a last will. It is also possible, though, that a will exists, but after going through the probate procedure, it is found to be invalid.

A reliable life insurance company in Montgomery will inform you that for a will to be upheld, it needs to be made while you are mentally competent to do so, signed voluntarily, and witnessed by witnesses (i.e., people who are not beneficiaries) who can vouch for your ability to make a will. Meeting these conditions is important; otherwise, it might invalidate the will.

2.    Property Unaffected by the Will

Several properties pass both through intestacy procedures and without a will, so bear that in mind when deciding whether or not you need one. This comprises:

• Assets in a living trust.
• Real estate held in common property with right of survivorship, as tenants by entirety, or as joint tenants.
• Benefits from life insurance policies with beneficiaries.
• Retirement accounts with beneficiaries such as 401(k)s or IRAs.
• Bank accounts or stocks held in a payable-on-death account.
• Property or automobiles held as payment upon death.

3.    Who Gets What?

Each state has created regulations that specify how a person’s property is transferred to heirs. In the majority of states, if you have no children, your spouse or domestic partner will inherit all of your possessions. Your spouse and child share your assets if you have a single child. A third goes to your spouse, and the remaining portion goes to your children if you have multiple children.

Also note that according to a life insurance company in Montgomery and intestacy rules, a biological child no longer has the right to inherit from you if they have been placed for adoption or have had their parental rights revoked.

State rules normally assign your assets to your other relatives in the following priority sequence if you do not leave behind a spouse or children:

• Your grandkids
• Your parent.
• Your siblings, if they are deceased, then your nephews and nieces.
• Your grandparents, if they are deceased, then your uncles or aunts.
• Family members of your late spouse.

4.    Who Gets Left Out?

A person’s legal and blood relations receive their assets under intestate succession laws, which do not include charities, long-term friends, or stepchildren. It’s also important to realize that the goal of distributing assets through intestacy is to divide them fairly so that each person receives a predetermined portion.

Furthermore, those who would have been entitled to inherit under intestacy laws may not be able to do so if they have committed a crime against the deceased or harmed or abandoned a child they would have otherwise been entitled to inherit from.

To Wrap Up

An essential component of estate planning is deciding who will inherit your assets when you pass away. Make sure that your assets are transferred according to your preferences with the help of a life insurance company in Montgomery. Don’t wait – get your estates in order. Contact us today!