Many people choose to determine who will inherit from their estate by writing a will, which governs the distribution of their estate in a probate proceeding after death. But how does probate work in Minnesota if you pass away without leaving a will?
Minnesota Intestate Succession Basics
Minnesota’s intestate succession law determines which of a decedent’s family members inherit from the decedent’s intestate estate. An “intestate estate” includes all assets in a decedent’s estate not bequeathed by a will. When a person passes away without a will, the intestate succession law governs who will inherit the person’s estate. When a person leaves a will, but it does not dispose of all the person’s estate, those remaining estate assets not devised by the will pass according to the intestate succession laws.
Estate assets include any assets subject to probate, excluding assets such as joint financial accounts, life insurance, or pension benefits with a beneficiary designation, or real estate owned in a joint tenancy with right of survivorship or a tenancy by the entirety.
Who Inherits Under Minnesota Intestacy Laws?
Under Minnesota’s intestate succession laws, a decedent’s surviving spouse has priority to inherit from the decedent’s estate. A surviving spouse inherits the entire estate if the decedent had no surviving descendants or all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse, and the surviving spouse has no other descendants who survived the decedent. However, when a decedent has descendants from another relationship, the surviving spouse receives the first $225,000 of the intestate estate’s value, plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate.
Shares of a decedent’s estate that do not pass to a surviving spouse go to family members in the following priority:
- The decedent’s descendants by representation
- The decedent’s surviving parent(s), if the decedent left no descendants
- The descendants of the decedent’s parents, if the decedent had no surviving descendants or parents
- The decedent’s grandparents and their descendants by representation, if the decedent had no surviving descendants, parents, or descendants of parents
- The next of kin in equal degree
Minnesota law also requires that an heir inheriting under the intestacy statutes survive the decedent for at least 120 hours. Otherwise, the law deems the heir to have predeceased the decedent. When a decedent has no surviving heir to inherit their estate, the estate passes (“escheats”) to the state of Minnesota.
Common Issues and Complications
Issues and complications that can arise when probating an estate via the intestate succession laws include:
- Blended Families – The law does not treat stepchildren the same as biological children. However, when a decedent legally adopts a new spouse’s children, those children receive the same legal standing as the decedent’s biological children. The law may also treat a child as adopted when the decedent dies during the process of adopting the child.
- Non-Probate Assets – Administrators of intestate estates must distinguish between a decedent’s probate assets, which pass to heirs under the intestate succession law, and non-probate assets, such as jointly owned assets, assets with beneficiary designations, or transfer-on-death or pay-on-death accounts, which automatically pass to co-owners or designated beneficiaries.
- Debts and Taxes – Debts and income or estate taxes owed by the estate can affect distributions to intestate heirs. Any debts and taxes must be paid to creditors before the remainder of the estate’s assets can be distributed.
Contact an Estate Planning Attorney Today
Understanding what happens to your assets after death if you don’t have a will can help you make informed decisions for your estate planning objectives. Contact Two Rivers Law P.A. today for a free initial consultation with an estate planning lawyer to learn more about how Minnesota’s intestacy laws may affect who inherits from you.