[WSBAPT] Intestate Inheritance with "kindred of the half blood"

[Karl Flaccus]

If a person dies intestate without children or spouse, and the intestate’s parents are deceased, the heirs are the deceased’s siblings, whether those siblings are full siblings or half siblings.  RCW 11.04.035.  So a person might die with a twin who survives, for example, and that surviving twin has to share her brother’s inheritance with 9 step siblings a thousand miles away who she’s never met.  This seems odd, but that’s the law.

There is an exception to this if the property is traceable to the twins’ parent (ancestor) who is not the parent of the step-children, in which case those traceable funds go only to the twin and not to the step-sibs.  RCW 11.04.035.  Ok, that makes sense.

Going back to the first paragraph above: I know this is not the law, but it seems to me it would make more sense if an intestate’s estate (that is not traceable to one parent or another) would go 50% to mom’s children and 50% to dad’s children.  In the case of a twin with 9 step-siblings, under this proposal the twin would get 55% and each step-child would get 5%.   If the twin had 3 step siblings instead of 9, the twin would receive 62.5%, and 12.5% would go to each step sibling.

Wouldn’t that make more sense?

Karl
FLACCUS LAW
7010 35th Ave. N.E.
Seattle, Washington  98115
206 523-0297
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