Sahvelo

Sahvelo · Glossary

Heir

Someone entitled to inherit under state law when there is no will — not simply a relative.

What it means

An heir is defined by statute, not by closeness. Each state sets an order: typically a surviving spouse and children first, then parents, then siblings, and outwards.

In ordinary speech 'heir' means anyone who inherits. In law it usually means the specific people the intestacy rules point to.

Why it matters

Forms ask you to list the heirs, and getting the list wrong can invalidate a sworn statement.

The statutory list frequently does not match what a family expects — step-children, unmarried partners and in-laws are often outside it, and a spouse rarely takes everything automatically where there are children from another relationship.

When you are likely to meet it

  • When there is no will.
  • When a form asks for 'all heirs at law' or requires their agreement.
  • When somebody says 'the family decided' — the statute may not agree.

How this varies by state

The order of entitlement is set by each state and the differences are real, particularly for a spouse where there are children from a previous relationship.

Below is how the states Sahvelo has published describe it, in their own words, each linked to the guide that sources it.

Alabama

Next of Kin Affidavit (MVT 5-6)

Alabama's one-page form for a vehicle where the estate is not being probated. One heir certifies, under penalty of perjury, that they are one of the heirs and that the estate 'has not been probated and does not require probate', and asserts the desire of all the heirs. It carries either a replacement title application or a transfer, one box only, and must be submitted with a copy of the death certificate.

Primary source Alabama Administrative Code rule 810-5-75-.09, Form MVT 5-6

Alaska

Successor

The person entitled to the property of somebody who has died, other than a creditor. On the Alaska Court System's account a successor may be the person nominated as personal representative in the will, a beneficiary named in the will, or an heir where there is no will. A successor who collects on an affidavit is accountable for the property to any personal representative appointed later and to anyone with a superior right, under AS 13.16.685.

Primary source Alaska Court System — collecting personal property without a court case, AS 13.16.685

Arizona

Intestate succession

The Arizona statutory scheme (A.R.S. §§14-2101 through 14-2614, principally §§14-2102 through 14-2106) that determines who inherits a decedent's property when there is no will. The share to the surviving spouse (§14-2102), the order of heirs (§§14-2103 through 14-2106), and the per-stirpes rule are all codified. Determines who receives the vehicle when the deceased owner died without a will.

Primary source A.R.S. §14-2102, A.R.S. §14-2103, A.R.S. §14-2104

Heir

A person who inherits from a decedent under Arizona intestate succession law (A.R.S. §§14-2102 through 14-2106) because there is no will. Heirs are determined by the statutory order: spouse, descendants, parents, siblings, more distant relatives. The person who receives the vehicle under intestacy is the heir; under a will, the analogous person is the devisee or beneficiary.

Primary source A.R.S. §14-2102, A.R.S. §14-2103

Arkansas

Sole heirs at law

The people who sign the Arkansas inheritance affidavit. The form runs on their unanimity rather than on any one person's entitlement, so a missing or unwilling heir stops it. Who counts as an heir at law is a question of Arkansas descent law, which this page does not state because the Arkansas Code is published through a commercial platform and was not read.

Primary source Arkansas DFA — Affidavit of Inheritance of a Motor Vehicle

Distributee

The person who swears the Arkansas Judiciary's Form 23 for the purpose of dispensing with administration of an estate. On the strength of a copy of that affidavit certified by the clerk, the distributees are entitled to distribution of the property identified in it without the necessity of an order of the court or other proceeding.

Primary source Arkansas Judiciary — Form 23

California

Heir

A person who inherits from a decedent under California intestate succession law (Probate Code §§6401 through 6460) when there is no will. The order: surviving spouse (or registered domestic partner) under §6401, descendants per stirpes under §6402, then more distant relatives per §§6402.1–6402.5. The person who receives the vehicle under intestacy is the heir.

Primary source Cal. Prob. Code §6401, Cal. Prob. Code §6402

Florida

Heir

Under Florida Probate Code §731.201(20), an "heir" is a person who is entitled to share in the intestate estate of a decedent. The Florida intestate succession order is in Fla. Stat. §§732.102 through 732.111: surviving spouse, descendants, parents, siblings, more distant relatives, then escheat to the state. The person who receives the vehicle under intestacy is the heir.

Primary source Fla. Stat. §731.201(20), Fla. Stat. §732.102

Indiana

Distributee

The person entitled to take property from an estate, and on Indiana's affidavit the person who has to sign. The form names the signer as the claimant or distributee of the estate and says the affidavit must be duly executed by the distributees — plural — so where more than one person is entitled, this is not a form one relative completes alone.

Primary source Indiana BMV $100,000

Iowa

Successor

The term section 633.356 uses for the person entitled to collect under Iowa's general small estate affidavit: the beneficiaries who succeeded under the will where there is one, the persons who succeeded under intestate succession where there is not, and — where the decedent received medical assistance — the Iowa Medicaid agency itself.

Primary source Iowa Code § 633.356

Kansas

Successor

The person entitled to use Kansas's small estates route, and the statute defines it rather than leaving it to ordinary language: a person entitled to the property by will or by intestate succession, or nominated as a personal representative under the will. Transfer to a successor is deemed to be a transfer to the personal representative of the deceased.

Primary source K.S.A. 59-1507b

Maine

Immediate heir

The Bureau's own term for the people who may use the heir route where no personal representative has been appointed: the person's children, parents, or siblings. Form MVT-22 offers the same three relations plus an "Other" line, and asks whether other people living share the same relation.

Primary source Maine BMV — instruction sheet for an heir (Maine resident)

Maryland

Legal heir, legatee, distributee

Three words Maryland uses precisely and families use loosely. The MVA defines them on the page: a legal heir inherits under law and is often a relative; a legatee is named in the will; a distributee is entitled to share in the estate. All three may receive a vehicle on the strength of original letters, and a transfer to any of them — or to a surviving spouse — carries no excise tax.

Primary source Maryland MVA — handling a loved one's vehicle and ID after death

Michigan

Closest next-of-kin

The Secretary of State's term for the person entitled to a vehicle where no probate case is opened. It is the surviving spouse; if there is no spouse, the deceased's children, who share equally where there are several. The agency does not adjudicate disputes about it and says questions about the rights or interest of next-of-kin should be referred to an attorney or the probate court.

Primary source Michigan Department of State — vehicle titles

Missouri

Distributee

In Missouri, a person entitled to receive property of the deceased. Distributees have a defeasible right to the personal property of a small estate without awaiting letters, and any distributee may make the small estate affidavit thirty days after the death where no personal representative was designated under a probated will.

Primary source Mo. Rev. Stat. § 473.097

New Mexico

Successor trustee

The person a trust names to step into the trustee role when the original trustees are no longer available, willing or competent to serve. New Mexico's manual explains why the capacity matters at the counter: a trustee is, in a very real legal sense, a different person when acting as trustee than when acting as an individual.

Primary source MVD Vehicle Procedures Manual ch.8 §K

New York

Distributee

A person entitled to share in the distribution of a decedent's intestate estate under the New York intestate succession rules (EPTL Article 4, particularly §4-1.1). Distinct from a "devisee" (who receives property under a will). On a New York vehicle-title-transfer, the distributee is the person who would receive the vehicle if the decedent died without a will.

Primary source EPTL §4-1.1, EPTL §1-2.5

Rhode Island

Sole Heir Affidavit

Rhode Island's Affidavit and Assignment of Title, issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles' Research/Title Office. Sworn under penalty of perjury by every heir before a notary, it states that they are the sole heirs, that no letters testamentary or of administration have issued and no petition is pending, and that there are no liens or encumbrances on the vehicle — and it assigns and warrants the title to a named purchaser, replacing the transfer of ownership on the back of the certificate.

Primary source Rhode Island DMV — Sole Heir Affidavit

Texas

Distributee

The Comptroller's term for who may take an inherited vehicle free of motor vehicle tax: a person entitled to a part of the estate under a lawful will or the statutes of descent and distribution. It reaches an intestate heir as well as a beneficiary under a will.

Primary source Estates Code §22.010; Comptroller Motor Vehicle Tax Guide

Utah

Successor

The person entitled to payment or delivery of the deceased's property, who signs the Utah affidavit. The courts' own form lets the signer instead certify that they are the duly authorized agent of the successor. Being the successor is not self-proving: where there is any question about who it is, a third party may ask for the court appointment of a personal representative before distributing the asset.

Primary source Utah State Courts — Affidavit for Transfer of Title to Motor Vehicles, Utah State Courts — Informal Probate

Washington

Successor

The person entitled to a dead person's personal property under Washington's affidavit statute. A claiming successor must give written notice to all other successors and wait ten days before using the affidavit, and must swear that forty days have elapsed since the death and that no application for a personal representative is pending or granted anywhere.

Primary source RCW 11.62.010

West Virginia

Legal Heir Affidavit

West Virginia form DMV-185-TR. Completed only where no administrator or administratrix has been appointed and no will has been left by the decedent. The claimant deposes that they are the legal heir of the decedent as the legally registered owner of the vehicle and have been designated as new owner and assignee pursuant to statutory descent and distribution and by agreement of all other legal heirs; the remaining heirs sign a relinquishment on the same form. Notarized, accompanied by a copy of the death certificate, and voided by any alteration, erasure or whiteout.

Primary source form DMV-185-TR

Authorized successor

The person to whom a decedent's small assets may be paid or delivered under West Virginia's Small Estate Act, once the affidavit has been recorded. The affiant undertakes to administer the small assets faithfully and to pay or deliver them to the successors entitled, after paying any known or ascertainable creditors of the decedent.

Primary source W. Va. Code § 44-1A-2

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

Tell us what’s missing

400 characters left