how assets will be distributed can vary from state to state the laws in most states divide property among the surviving spouse if any and children if any of the deceased 2
in community property states spouses are considered to be joint owners of any property acquired during the marriage and are typically entitled to at least half of the estate community property states are arizona california idaho louisiana nevada new mexico texas washington and wisconsin along with the u s territories of guam and puerto rico 3in other states mostly common law states the distribution hierarchy also starts with the surviving spouse depending on the court s determination they may receive less than half more than half or even the entire estate if the dead person left no living children or grandchildren if the person was unmarried or widowed at the time of their death their assets will be divided among any surviving children before any other relative if no next of kin can be located then the assets in the estate will be transferred to the custody of the state this is referred to as escheatment 4close friends of the deceased are not usually part of the list of beneficiaries under a state s probate laws for intestate estates however if the deceased had a joint account with right of survivorship or owned property jointly with another person then the joint asset will automatically belong to the surviving party or parties 5