Tom McCutcheon – Attorney at Law
Q: My uncle is 81 years old. He has never been married and has no children. He has a sizable estate but does not have a Will. My mother (his sister) passed away six years ago. Her name is on his life insurance policies and the beneficiary to all his money. I have three brothers and just wanted to know if his estate should go to me and my brothers?
Nephew
A: When there is a Will, property and money is distributed according to the terms of the Will. When there is not a Will, property and money is distributed under the laws of intestate succession. When there is a Will, the estate is probated. When there is not a Will, an estate is administered.
It is always better to have a Will because that saves the estate the cost of a bond and if the estate is not finished within the first year, then another bond must be purchased.
As you’ve heard on television, the State does have a Will that is written for everyone and that is known as intestate succession. In Alabama, intestate succession provides that if there is a surviving spouse, the spouse would get a certain amount of money in value and that amount changes if the decedent (person who died and left the estate) and the surviving spouse together had children. If all of the children were by the decedent and the surviving spouse the spouse gets more. If the decedent has a surviving spouse and children that are not the issue (children of) the surviving spouse, then the surviving spouse receives less allowing for more to go to the surviving children of the person who died.
If there is no spouse, then to the children, if no children then to the parents, and if there are no children or parents, then to the aunts and uncles and so forth. You can read the rules at Alabama Code §43-8-41 and §43-8-42.
The way that the legislature is set up “the Will the State wrote for you” or intestate succession is about as rational and well thought out as any group of people could come up with.
Remember that life insurance and investment accounts are going to be distributed according to the contract under which they are made. If your uncle left his life insurance to your mom and she has passed away, I would think that the money would be paid to her estate and distributed according to the terms of her Will or the rules of intestate succession. Remember that a home is usually held in a deed that provides that the survivor of a marriage gets the property. No matter what a Will provides, the deed controls the disposition of the property.
We provide at no charge whatsoever Wills for service men and women and their spouses. That includes police officers, firemen and first responders. If you don’t qualify for a free Will, we charge $50.00 for a simple Will. Almost every lawyer can write you a Will but remember that if you are dealing with an elderly person there are lawyers who specialize in elder law and they provide an extremely valuable service.
Buckle up and drive safely.
McCutcheon & Hamner, P.C.
2210 Helton Drive
Florence, Alabama 35630
Telephone: 256-764-0112
Facsimile: 256-764-1124
