I am an 85 year old man. I have no surviving spouse but I have two surviving children and a deceased daughter who left behind three children. If I were to die without leaving a will how will my estate be distributed among them?
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Answer by Neha Sharma, Hillsdale 2036 NSW
- Your estate will be divided into three equal portions after payment of all debts and costs including the costs of your funeral.
- Your two surviving children will each receive one-third of estate. The remaining one-third will go to your grandchildren from your deceased daughter to be shared equally.
- If any of your grandchildren were to die before you and also left behind children then their children will take equal shares of any amount that would have gone to their parent.
- The laws of intestacy are complicated and the process is time consuming. If you want your estate to be divided in a specific way you should write a will that expresses your intentions. For example if you want your prized collection of vintage toy cars to go to your grandson you must specifically declare them as a gift to your grandson under a will.