Full question:
My husband recently passed away and has left a substantial amount of property behind. He was the only son in his family. We got married about 5 months back. How will his property be divided in the absence of a will? Will his parents get a share of it?
- Category: Wills and Estates
- Subcategory: Intestacy
- Date:
- State: South Carolina
Answer:
In South Carolina, when a person dies without a will, their estate is divided according to intestacy laws outlined in Article 2 of Title 62 of the South Carolina Probate Code. In these cases, the primary beneficiary is the surviving spouse and any children of the deceased.
According to S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-102, the surviving spouse's share is as follows: (1) if there are no surviving children, they receive the entire estate; (2) if there are surviving children, they receive one-half of the estate. In your situation, since you are the surviving spouse, you will inherit the entire property if there are no children. If there are children, you will receive half.
The parents of the deceased will not receive a share of the estate in this case. They can only inherit if there is no surviving spouse or children, as stated in § 62-2-103, which specifies that the remaining estate passes to the parents equally if there are no other beneficiaries.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.