Uniform Simultaneous Death Act - Inheritance

Inheritance

The Act primarily helps to determine the heirs of a person who has died intestate. For example, Alice and Bob are a married, retired couple with no offspring. They die in a plane crash, and it cannot be determined which person died first. Neither had executed a will, so both Alice's and Bob's families claim inheritance of the couple's estate. The court uses the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act to resolve the dispute. In accordance with the Act, Alice is considered to have predeceased Bob, but Bob is also considered to have predeceased Alice. The inheritance is divided equally among their closest living relatives, according to degree of kinship.

The 120-hour period is intended to simplify estate administration by preventing an inheritance from being transferred more times than necessary. For example, assume that the Act does not exist. Alice dies immediately, but Bob dies in the hospital the next day. Because Bob outlives Alice, he would inherit her estate, and Bob's heirs would inherit the combined estate the next day. This would increase the legal costs involved, and cause Alice's estate to be subject to tax twice: once alone, and once as part of Bob's. However, if tax was paid in Alice's estate, Bob's would receive a Federal Estate Tax credit for the same property transferred by Alice (state death and inheritance tax provisions may differ). Under the Act, neither inherits the other's estate, each is taxed separately, and their heirs inherit both estates once.