Who Gets Your Property if You Die Without a Will?

In my last installment (Who Is Qualified to Serve as Administrator of an Estate?), I wrote about Boris and Natasha and the Big Fight occasioned by Boris dying without a will. As you may recall, Boris had two adult children from a prior marriage when he married Natasha. He and Natasha had two children before Boris died without a will. His property was substantial and all of it was acquired prior to his marriage. What happened to the property on his death?

The good news is that no one was disinherited, and the property did not escheat to the state. Nevada law provides for property to go to your closest relatives if you die without any estate planning in place. In a community property state such as Nevada, a married person’s property may be either community or separate, or some combination of the two. Separate property is property acquired before marriage, as well as property acquired by gift or inheritance during marriage. All property earned during marriage, or purchased with earnings during marriage, is community property. These characterizations can be changed by a written agreement if the couple wishes.

For Boris and Natasha, all of Boris’s property was separate property and he left no will. Nevada law provides that in such case, the surviving spouse is entitled to one third of the separate property, and—because he had more than one surviving child—the children were entitled to equal shares of the remaining two-thirds. Boris did not put any of his assets into joint tenancy with Natasha, but if he had, Natasha would have succeeded to such assets. Once the estate administration finished, Natasha received one-third of Boris’s assets; the couple’s minor children received one-third subject to a guardianship or trust until they became adults; and Boris’s two adult children received the remaining one-third in equal shares.