Say there's a family of four: a father and a mother and their two children (Child A and Child B) who are both of major age, single, and childess.
Now, say that the entire family dies more or less at the same time (i.e. accident, natural calamity, etc.). When I say "more or less at the same time" I mean that it the order in which the family members died cannot be accurately ascertained or if it can, the interval between their deaths are very small (as in probably within minutes).
No one in the family leaves a will except for Child A.
Now, can Child A's estate technically include the entire family estate, as in the estate of the father and mother and Child B as well?
The way I'm thinking about this is when a person dies, in the absence of a will, only his spouse and descendants can be called into succession. In my scenario, since the father and mother died, their entire estate (both of their individual and conjugal properties) go to their children. As for the children, since Child A is the only who left a will, can his estate which will be distributed by his will include the estate of his parents (as a successor to their estate) and that of his sibling, Child B? (The estate of Child B: Whatever estate Child B already had and Child B's share of the parents' estate if the possibility of Child B dying ahead of Child A is considered.)
I've seen it that way since, in the abscence of a will for any of the family members, all of their properties will go outside the family, to ascendants and to collateral relatives (both Child A and Child B are single and childless). So will it be possible for Child A, through his will, to direct the distribution of all the family estate? Or perhaps, Child A's will is just bypassed entirely and the entire family estate is simply distributed equally to the family's next of kin?
Is my reasoning correct? Is ascertaining the actual order of death important (even in this case)? Now I know there are practical problems to this. For example, if Child A wrote the will some time before their deaths, it is highly unlikely that his will even mentions properties from his parents' estate since those properties don't even belong to his estate (at the time of writing) and he could not have expected that all of them would die more or less at the same time. But perhaps there can be some sort of contingency, probably in cases of Child A realizing imminent death and knowing that at the death of his entire family, there can be complications as to how to distribute properties to ascendants and collateral relatives in the absence of any will.
Assume the scenario is under United States federal law (and whatever state law you might be familiar with), that holographic wills are allowed, and that there is no foul play (the family members are proven to have died of natural causes). Of course, also assume that there is still a resulting estate after all liabilities and taxes have been deducted.
Now, say that the entire family dies more or less at the same time (i.e. accident, natural calamity, etc.). When I say "more or less at the same time" I mean that it the order in which the family members died cannot be accurately ascertained or if it can, the interval between their deaths are very small (as in probably within minutes).
No one in the family leaves a will except for Child A.
Now, can Child A's estate technically include the entire family estate, as in the estate of the father and mother and Child B as well?
The way I'm thinking about this is when a person dies, in the absence of a will, only his spouse and descendants can be called into succession. In my scenario, since the father and mother died, their entire estate (both of their individual and conjugal properties) go to their children. As for the children, since Child A is the only who left a will, can his estate which will be distributed by his will include the estate of his parents (as a successor to their estate) and that of his sibling, Child B? (The estate of Child B: Whatever estate Child B already had and Child B's share of the parents' estate if the possibility of Child B dying ahead of Child A is considered.)
I've seen it that way since, in the abscence of a will for any of the family members, all of their properties will go outside the family, to ascendants and to collateral relatives (both Child A and Child B are single and childless). So will it be possible for Child A, through his will, to direct the distribution of all the family estate? Or perhaps, Child A's will is just bypassed entirely and the entire family estate is simply distributed equally to the family's next of kin?
Is my reasoning correct? Is ascertaining the actual order of death important (even in this case)? Now I know there are practical problems to this. For example, if Child A wrote the will some time before their deaths, it is highly unlikely that his will even mentions properties from his parents' estate since those properties don't even belong to his estate (at the time of writing) and he could not have expected that all of them would die more or less at the same time. But perhaps there can be some sort of contingency, probably in cases of Child A realizing imminent death and knowing that at the death of his entire family, there can be complications as to how to distribute properties to ascendants and collateral relatives in the absence of any will.
Assume the scenario is under United States federal law (and whatever state law you might be familiar with), that holographic wills are allowed, and that there is no foul play (the family members are proven to have died of natural causes). Of course, also assume that there is still a resulting estate after all liabilities and taxes have been deducted.
Estate Planning Strategies: A Theoretical Scenario Involving the Death of an Entire Family
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