UNDERSTANDING INTESTACY – What happens without an estate plan?
Many people, particularly young adults, do not prioritize establishing or maintaining an estate plan. This may be for a myriad of reasons. One explanation we hear from many is that they believe their assets would pass the same way by law if they died intestate (without a will) as they would direct the assets to pass in their will. However, one cannot be certain of this without familiarity with the rules of intestate succession. Furthermore, this oversimplification disregards many other potential issues whereby family interests could be impaired if no plan is in place and intestacy laws are left to govern.