Family allowance

What it means

An estate can take a year or more to settle, during which its accounts are frozen. A family allowance is the mechanism for supporting the people who were being supported by the person who died.

It usually has priority over general unsecured creditors, and it usually does not reduce what the spouse eventually inherits.

It may be a fixed statutory sum, a monthly amount for a set period, or an amount the court decides.

Why it matters

It addresses the most immediate practical problem after a death — the household's income stopped and the bank account is closed.

Like the elective share, it is a right that usually has to be asked for, and it is not offered.

When you are likely to meet it

• When a household loses its income and the estate is not yet open.
• When a surviving spouse cannot access accounts.
• When creditors are pressing an estate that also has to support a family.

How this varies by state

Whether a state provides an allowance, how much, for how long, and where it ranks against creditors are all set by state law.

Related terms

• Creditor claim periodThe window, set by state law, in which somebody owed money by the estate has to present the claim or lose it.
• Elective shareA surviving spouse's right to claim a minimum portion of the estate, even if the will leaves them less or nothing.
• Homestead exemptionA protection for the family home — from creditors, from being sold to pay debts, or as a right for the surviving spouse to keep living there.
• Insolvent estateAn estate that owes more than it holds. State law then decides who gets paid, in what order, and who gets nothing.
• Priority of claimsThe statutory order in which an estate's debts are paid. Paying out of order is the executor's own liability.
• Probate courtThe court that supervises estates. In many states it is a division of a general trial court and goes by another name.
• Set-asideA court order handing a small estate straight to the family without any administration.
• Year's supportAn award to a surviving spouse and minor children that comes off the top of the estate, ahead of creditors.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Debts after a death