descent and distribution statute

Case Study Not having a valid will may result in a person's estate being distributed in a manner other than which the person desires. Without a will, the descent and distribution statute in the deceased's state of residence determines how the estate's assets are distributed. Ohio law stipulates intestate estates be distributed entirely to a surviving spouse, even when there are surviving children or surviving descendants of deceased children. Illinois law requires that a surviving spouse receive only half the estate when there are surviving children of the decedent. The remaining half is distributed to the deceased's children, regardless of the number of children. A surviving widow and children of the deceased also share fifty-fifty in South Carolina. The various statutes become more complicated when surviving heirs are more distant from the immediate family. For example, in Illinois, if there is no surviving spouse, descendant, parent, sister, brother, descendant of a brother or sister, grandparent, or descendant of a grandparent, the estate is split between the survivors of the descendant's maternal great-grandparents and paternal greatgrandparents.