My Parents Don’t Have Wills. Will The Government Take Their Money When They Die?

“My Parents Don’t Have Wills. Will The Government Take Their Money When They Die?”

The answer is – No!

It is better for your parents to have Wills in place so that they can clearly specify their wishes as to how their assets are distributed and who is in charge of overseeing the estate. However, the government does not take estate assets simply because someone dies without a Will.

When someone dies without a Will, the assets that are in the name of the decedent at the time of death will pass to heirs by the rules of intestacy.

• Each state defines who will inherit if there is no Will.
• Generally, the surviving spouse and the decedent’s children are given priority.
• If there is no surviving spouse or children, then the estate will be distributed to the next in line, including the parents, siblings, grandparents, and cousins.

ONLY if there are no living relatives will the estate assets go to the state where the decedent lived.

What is important to know is that the Will only gives away those assets that are in the decedent’s name alone. And the rules of intestacy only govern the disposition of an asset if the decedent died owning it, and where the decedent didn’t own it jointly with another person, had a named beneficiary, or had the account in a trust.

So don’t be concerned about the government taking control of your parents’ estate, even if they don’t have a Will.