What is the difference between heirship and intestacy?
The difference between heirship and intestacy in Maine is largely to do with what happens when a person dies without leaving a will. Heirship is a situation where a person has died without a will, and there are named individuals or entities that are legally entitled to certain assets owned by the deceased person. These are usually family members, and they are known as heirs. This could include siblings, parents, children, or other relatives. These heirs will inherit the deceased’s assets according to a set of rules determined by the state of Maine. Intestacy is a situation where a person has died without a will, but there are no named individuals or entities that are legally entitled to certain assets owned by the deceased person. This is not to say that there aren’t any potential heirs, but rather that no-one has been specified in the deceased’s will or any other document. In this case, the assets owned by the deceased person would be divided up according to the law of intestacy. This is a much more rigid set of rules than those that would apply to an heirship situation, and it can mean that the deceased’s assets are split up in ways that they might not have wanted.
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