1. The Battle for Control and Tactical Possession in Intestate Succession
The true battle in Intestate Succession is not merely about the final percentages of the estate but about the immediate legal control of the physical and financial assets of the deceased.
When a person dies without a will, the vacuum of authority creates a situation where possession is often treated as nine-tenths of the law by family members who act in bad faith. The prize in the early days of a probate case is the appointment as the administrator, a role that grants the power to manage bank accounts, access private records and control the entry to real property.
Until an administrator is formally appointed by the court, no single person has the legal right to touch the decedent assets, but in practice, the heir who physically holds the keys often exerts a level of control that can be difficult to reverse without a court order. This period of administrative limbo is when the most significant asset dissipation occurs, as unregulated parties may attempt to hide or repurpose estate capital.
We act immediately to secure the legal standing of our clients, ensuring they are not sidelined while others seize control of the inheritance. Our strategy involves a combination of rapid court filings and physical asset protection to ensure that the estate remains intact for the eventual distribution. By establishing a dominant presence in the early stages, we prevent the "first-to-grab" mentality from dictating the outcome of the case.
The Fight for Letters of Administration and Priority
The issuance of Letters of Administration is the turning point in any intestate case because it formally clothes one individual with the power to act on behalf of the estate. Because there is no will to name an executor, the court must choose an administrator based on a statutory priority list that usually favors the surviving spouse followed by children. However, this priority is not absolute and can be challenged if the top-ranked individual is deemed unfit due to a conflict of interest or a history of financial mismanagement.
We specialize in these contested appointments, fighting to secure the administrative role for our clients or to block the appointment of an adverse family member who might use the position to conceal assets. Having our client appointed as the administrator provides the ultimate leverage, allowing them to oversee the inventory process and control the timing of distributions.
Emergency Petitions and Freezing Estate Assets
Before the court can even appoint an administrator, it is often necessary to seek emergency orders to prevent the dissipation of estate assets by relatives who believe they have a presumptive right to take what they want. In many cases of Intestate Succession, siblings or children will enter a decedent home and begin removing jewelry, cash and personal items under the guise of "safekeeping."
We act immediately to secure injunctions and asset freezes that lock down bank accounts and prohibit anyone from entering the property until a formal inventory is conducted. This proactive litigation ensures that the estate remains intact and that the eventually appointed administrator has a full accounting of the property they are required to manage. Protecting the status quo through emergency relief is often the only way to prevent a total loss of high-value personal property.
2. The Collision of Spouses and Children in Intestate Successions
Intestate Succession frequently forces a collision between the surviving spouse and children from prior marriages, resulting in a fractured ownership structure that often leads to the involuntary liquidation of family homes.
The mechanical nature of the law often divides the estate into shares that make co-ownership unavoidable and unbearable for the parties involved. In many jurisdictions, a spouse may receive a fixed dollar amount plus half of the remaining estate, while the children from a prior marriage receive the other half.
This means that a step-parent and their step-children, who may already have a strained relationship, suddenly become co-owners of the primary residence. This involuntary partnership is a recipe for litigation because neither party can sell, mortgage or rent the property without the consent of the other. The resulting deadlock can trap a surviving spouse in a house they cannot afford to maintain or prevent children from receiving their rightful liquid inheritance.
We focus on resolving these forced partnerships through strategic negotiations or partition actions that prioritize our client financial independence. By identifying the inherent conflicts of interest early, we can often force a buyout or a structured sale that avoids years of unproductive family bickering. Our goal is to untangle these complex relationships so that you can move forward without being permanently tied to adverse heirs.
The Spouse versus Children of a Prior Marriage
The most intense conflicts in Intestate Succession occur in blended families where the law rigid formulas ignore the interpersonal dynamics that have developed over years. The surviving spouse may have lived in the family home for decades, but under the rules of intestacy, the decedent children from a previous union may suddenly own a significant portion of that house. These children often have a strong incentive to force a sale to receive their cash inheritance, while the spouse may have a desperate need to remain in the home.
We navigate these complex community property and common law rules to protect the residency rights of spouses or to secure the fair market value for children who are being excluded. Our expertise allows us to find the legal levers that can force a resolution, whether through homestead protections for the spouse or accounting demands for the heirs.
Fractional Ownership and the Real Estate Lockup
One of the most difficult aspects of dying without a will is the creation of fractional ownership, where a single asset is divided into many small pieces owned by multiple heirs. If a decedent had four children, each child might inherit a twenty-five percent interest in a property, effectively giving each person a veto power over any major decision regarding the asset. This creates a legal lockup where the house cannot be sold because one heir refuses to sign the listing agreement or one heir believes the property is worth more than the market will pay.
Our firm utilizes the partition process to break these deadlocks, forcing a judicial sale of the property so that our clients can receive their inheritance in liquid cash. We manage the court-ordered sale process to ensure the property is marketed correctly and that our clients are not cheated out of their equity by an unreasonable or stalling co-owner.
3. Defining Legal Heirs and Managing Forensic Ambiguity
Determining the hierarchy of legal heirs in Intestate Succession requires a rigorous forensic analysis of familial ties to prevent illegitimate or distant relatives from diluting the inheritance of those with superior claims.
While the law seems straightforward, the actual definition of an heir can be highly contested in the modern era of complex family structures. Issues involving adopted children, children born out of wedlock, half-siblings and posthumous children often create layers of ambiguity that the probate court must resolve.
A failure to correctly identify and exclude individuals who have no legal standing can result in the loss of millions of dollars as the estate is divided into smaller and smaller shares for people the decedent may have never even met. We treat the identification of heirs as a forensic investigation, requiring strict proof of biological or legal relationship according to the specific mandates of the probate code.
By aggressively vetting every claimant, we protect the core beneficiaries from having their shares diminished by opportunistic parties. Our firm provides the evidentiary support needed to verify legitimate heirs and to strike down fraudulent or unsubstantiated claims before they can impact the final distribution.
Challenging Wrongful Claims and Omitted Persons
In the absence of a will, it is not uncommon for distant relatives or individuals claiming to be non-marital children to emerge and demand a portion of the estate. These claims can throw the entire Intestate Succession process into chaos as the court must pause the distribution to conduct evidentiary hearings on paternity or the validity of adoption records.
We provide the aggressive defense needed to rebut these claims, requiring strict proof of legal relationship and utilizing DNA experts when necessary to disprove false allegations. By defending the estate against wrongful claimants, we ensure that the true heirs do not have their inheritance diminished by opportunistic litigation. We also identify omitted persons who have a legitimate claim but have been ignored by an administrator seeking to maximize their own share.
The Status of Half-Siblings and Non-Marital Children
The law regarding half-siblings varies by jurisdiction, with some states granting them the same share as full-siblings and others giving them only half as much. Similarly, the rights of children born out of wedlock often depend on whether the decedent formally acknowledged them or if paternity can be proven through DNA testing after death. These nuances are where many Intestate Succession cases are won or lost.
We utilize forensic genealogy to establish the correct legal hierarchy, ensuring that our client shares are calculated based on a precise application of the law rather than a generalized assumption of family relationships. Our goal is to ensure that the statutory distribution reflects the highest level of legal accuracy to protect your financial interests from being diluted.
4. Asset Destruction and the Burden of Court Supervised Estates
The financial destruction caused by the mechanical application of Intestate Succession rules often forces the sale of high-value properties and businesses because the law cannot easily divide a single physical asset among a group of co-owners.
When an estate is intestate, every major decision made by the administrator is subject to court oversight, which significantly increases the cost and time required to close the case. Attorney fees, administrator commissions, bond premiums and court costs can quickly consume a significant percentage of the estate value.
Furthermore, the lack of a will means there are no instructions on how to handle a family business, often leading to a situation where the business must be liquidated because the heirs cannot agree on who should run it. This loss of "going concern" value is one of the most tragic results of dying without a plan. Our firm focuses on mitigating these losses by seeking early court authorizations to sell or manage assets in a way that preserves their market value.
Forced Judicial Sales and Auctions
Because the law primary goal in Intestate Succession is to distribute shares to everyone, the probate court will often order the sale of assets to facilitate a cash division. This often results in a forced sale situation where the family home or a valuable piece of land is sold at a judicial auction or through a court-supervised listing, which may not achieve the highest possible market price.
The heirs lose the ability to wait for the right buyer or to perform the renovations necessary to maximize the sale price. We work to mitigate these losses by negotiating private buyout agreements among heirs or by seeking court permission for a structured sale that allows for a more competitive marketing process. Our objective is to ensure that even in a forced sale, our clients receive the maximum possible equity from the asset.
The Administrative Burden and Bond Requirements
Without a will to waive the requirement of a surety bond or to grant the power of independent administration, the administrator of an intestate estate must often seek court approval for every check they write and every contract they sign. This level of supervision is both slow and expensive, as it requires the constant involvement of lawyers and the filing of formal petitions for every minor administrative task.
Our firm focuses on streamlining this process by seeking the broadest possible powers for the administrator under the simplified probate procedures whenever possible. By reducing the administrative friction, we preserve more of the estate capital for the heirs and shorten the time it takes for them to receive their final distribution. We handle the heavy lifting of the bureaucratic process so you can focus on recovering from your loss.
5. Emergency Legal Intervention and Removing Mismanaged Administrators
Emergency judicial intervention is often the only way to halt the mismanagement of an estate by a self-serving administrator who has gained control under the rules of Intestate Succession.
Just because a person is appointed as an administrator does not mean they will act in the best interests of all the heirs. In many cases, the person in control will use estate funds to pay for their own personal expenses, live in the decedent home rent-free or sell assets to their friends at a discount.
Because there is no will to provide a baseline of expectations, the only way to hold these individuals accountable is through aggressive litigation in the probate court. We monitor the actions of administrators closely, demanding regular updates and formal accountings to ensure that the estate is not being looted. If we find evidence of wrongdoing, we move immediately to suspend their powers and protect the remaining assets.
Removal of Self-Serving Administrators
If an administrator is failing to move the case forward or is actively wasting the estate assets, the law allows for their immediate removal. However, the court will not remove an administrator based on simple family bickering; there must be clear evidence of a breach of fiduciary duty or a total failure to perform their legal obligations.
We specialize in these removal actions, documenting the administrator failures and presenting a compelling case to the judge for their replacement. By removing a corrupt or incompetent administrator, we can reset the direction of the estate and ensure that the assets are managed with the integrity and speed that the law requires. We ensure that the new administrator is someone who will respect your rights and follow the law to the letter.
Compelling an Accounting and Asset Recovery
Every administrator of an estate governed by Intestate Succession has a mandatory duty to provide a full and accurate accounting of every dollar that enters and leaves the estate. When an administrator refuses to provide information to the other heirs, it is a major red flag that assets may be missing.
We file petitions to compel a formal accounting, requiring the administrator to produce bank statements, receipts and tax records for the court review. If we find that money has been stolen or mismanaged, we pursue asset recovery actions to force the administrator to pay back the estate from their own pocket. This forensic approach to the accounting ensures that your final inheritance is not diminished by the greed or negligence of the person in charge.
6. Why Clients Choose SJKP LLP for Intestate Succession
Selecting SJKP LLP to manage your Intestate Succession needs ensures that your inheritance and your financial sovereignty are protected by a firm that combines the forensic precision of a high stakes investigation unit with the authoritative power of a senior partner.
We recognize that for our clients, the lack of a will is not just an administrative problem; it is a direct threat to their family wealth and their personal stability. Our firm provides a comprehensive legal shield, integrating aggressive probate litigation with a deep understanding of the mechanical distribution rules that govern intestate estates. We do not simply wait for the court to act; we build proactive strategies that secure the keys to the estate, freeze bank accounts and neutralize adverse family members before they can dissipate the assets.
Our senior partners take a hands-on approach to every case, ensuring that our clients have the most experienced minds at the table during every court hearing and negotiation session. We have a proven track record of deconstructing complex family dynamics and identifying the procedural flaws that lead to successful administrator removals and asset recoveries. By leveraging our relationships with forensic genealogists and our deep knowledge of state probate regulations, we are able to provide our clients with a clear roadmap to resolution in even the most chaotic intestate situations. At SJKP LLP, we believe that the legal system should be a place of clarity and justice, and we are dedicated to ensuring that our clients are treated with the fairness and due process they deserve under the law. We stand as a formidable barrier between our clients and the heirs who seek to exploit the vacuum of authority to deny you your rightful share of the estate.
13 Jan, 2026
