When a person dies without a will, his or her property will pass to known or unknown heirs through the laws of intestate succession.  Intestate succession is an operation of law in the following scenarios:

1. Spouse and children. If the decedent has a spouse and children, the decedent’s assets are divided into equal shares for the spouse and the children.  The descendants of any deceased child inherit that child’s share.  If the decedent has a spouse but no children, the entire estate passes to the spouse.
2. Parents, Siblings, and Descendants of Siblings. If the decedent has no spouse or children, his or her assets are distributed among his or her parents, siblings, or descendants of siblings.  Each parent or sibling is given one share of the decedent’s estate.  If any of the siblings predecease the decedent, that sibling’s share passes to his or her descendants.
3. Grandparents, Uncles, and Aunts. If the decedent has no spouse, child, parents, siblings, or descendants of siblings, his estate passes to his grandparents, uncles, and aunts in equal shares.  Unlike the previous categories, the share of a deceased aunt or uncle does notpass to his or her descendants.
4. Blood Relatives of Highest Degree. In the rare event that there are no individuals in any of the previous categories, the decedent’s assets are distributed in accordance with degrees of kinship as established by civil law.  This rather convoluted process involves going up the family tree to a common ancestor, then back down the tree to the descendants of that ancestor, counting degrees for each step in the ascending and descending family line.

Heirs who fit into any of the categories above must be identified and summoned to court for heirship determination.  Sometimes the identities are readily available, sometimes not.  Notice to unknown heirs is accomplished through the publication of Summons to appear at the determination hearing for a period of 90 days.  Those who appear will give testimony to the court as to their relation to the deceased.  The court will then make a final determination as to who will share in the decedent’s estate.