There are certain cases in probate law in which there are specific laws in place to deal with specific situations.
Often due to tragic circumstances and unforeseen health problems, the simultaneous death of two or more individuals tied to a single estate plan or shared piece of property can be a serious legal concern.
These scenarios can effect several different types of relationships between property owners, including married couples, life insurance holders, and those tied to a will or trust.
In the case of simultaneous deaths involving married couples, the law interjects.
For some jurisdictions, the untimely passing of both individuals creates a special situation.
In these jurisdictions, one-half of the property works as if one of the spouses had survived and the other half goes to the other spouse.
Accordingly, these properties are then divided either along the lines of a pre-existing testament or following the probate law of that state.
Life insurance policies work differently in the event of a simultaneous death.
If both the insured individual and his or her insurance beneficiary die at the same time or within a short enough period of time of each other, some jurisdictions act as if the insured individual outlived the beneficiary of the policy.
Depending on how the policy was organized, these funds may not then be collected by that primary beneficiary.
In terms of inheritance, a beneficiary dying either before or simultaneously with a benefactor changes according to the estate plan or probate law.
If an individual has not planned for this sort of situation, state law may determine what course of action is taken.
However, many well-constructed wills or trusts have special clauses to reorganize property in case one beneficiary passes before receiving their inheritance.
In these cases, the word of the testament is taken accordingly.
To learn more about inheritance and simultaneous death, contact an estate planning attorney.