Also known as: statutes of descent · statute of distribution
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory rule that directs the passage of a decedent's real property to designated heirs when the owner dies without a valid will. The rule effects transfer by operation of law at the moment of death and requires no deed from the decedent. It operates as an alternative to transfer by deed or by devise under a will.
Elias died without a will while owning a rental house in his own name. Horizon Property Services continued collecting rent and signing leases after his death. Carla, Elias's niece and sole heir under the intestacy statute, claimed title in a quiet title action. Title vested in Carla at Elias's death by operation of law even though no deed was ever executed.
Marisol conveyed her office building in trust to Lena for life with remainder to Marisol's heirs at law. Marisol later died intestate survived by her parents and siblings. The parents and siblings qualified as heirs under the statute of descent and took the remainder interest that became possessory after Lena's death. A prior contract purporting to sell Marisol's reversionary interest conveyed nothing because no reversion remained.
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A decedent died intestate leaving real property. The slayer claimed the property as an heir under the statute of descent. The court held that legal title passed to the slayer by operation of the statute but imposed a constructive trust for the benefit of the decedent's other heirs. Equity prevented the slayer from retaining beneficial ownership despite the statutory designation.
The statute of descent supplies the default distribution of real property when a person dies without a valid will. A devise transfers the same property by the terms of a will admitted to probate. Both mechanisms pass title by operation of law without a deed from the decedent.
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Yes. When an owner dies intestate, the statute of descent vests legal title in the heirs at the moment of death subject only to administration of the estate. No deed or court order is required for the initial vesting.
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Yes. Transfers by operation of law such as tax sales and foreclosures are independent of intestate succession. A completed tax sale or foreclosure passes clear title even when the decedent died intestate and heirs have not yet received distribution.
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The personal representative may execute a confirmatory deed to perfect record title but does not create the heir's ownership. Title already vested in the heirs by operation of the statute at the decedent's death.
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…spite of his crime. The reasoning for so deciding is that devolution of the property of a decedent is controlled entirely by the statutes of descent and distribution; further, that denial of the inheritance to the slayer because of his crime would be imposing an additional punishment for his crime not provided by statute, and would…