When a person dies without leaving a valid will, real property passes according to:

The statutes of descent and distribution of the state where the land lies

The terms of the deed by which the decedent originally took title

A uniform federal probate statute applied nationwide

The wishes expressed by the surviving spouse alone

During her marriage, a Texas wife inherits a rental house from her mother. Under Family Code 3.001, how is the house classified?

Her separate property, because it was acquired by devise or descent

Community property, because it was acquired during the marriage

Half hers and half her husband's, as tenants in common

Community property unless she records a schedule of separate property

Exam vocabulary · involuntary transfer of title

What Is Intestate Succession in Real Estate?

Definition

Intestate succession is the statutory order in which a state distributes the property of someone who dies without a valid will, typically to a surviving spouse, then children, then more distant kin. Real property passes under the law of the state where the land lies, and only if no heir exists does it escheat.

How the exam tests intestate succession

These mirror the phrasing you will see on test day. Answer them, then read the explanation whether or not you got it right.

Intestate Succession: exam questions1/3

Transfer of title

A person dies without a will, leaving a surviving spouse and two children. Title passes by:

score 0/0

Every intestate succession question, answered

Every question above with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read the explanations for the ones you answered correctly too. A lucky guess and knowing the rule look identical on a score report. These are sample questions from our larger bank.

1. A person dies without a will, leaving a surviving spouse and two children. Title passes by:
- AEscheat to the state
- BIntestate succession under state lawcorrect
- CAdverse possession
- DDevise
Why: With no will but living heirs, the estate passes by intestate succession according to the state’s statutory order. Escheat applies only when there is no will AND no heirs.
Transfer of title
2. When a person dies without leaving a valid will, real property passes according to:
- AThe statutes of descent and distribution of the state where the land liescorrect
- BThe terms of the deed by which the decedent originally took title
- CA uniform federal probate statute applied nationwide
- DThe wishes expressed by the surviving spouse alone
Why: Intestate real property passes under "The statutes of descent and distribution of the state where the land lies", because land is governed by the law of its location. Probate of real property is a matter of state law, not federal law.
Transfer of title
3. During her marriage, a Texas wife inherits a rental house from her mother. Under Family Code 3.001, how is the house classified?
- ACommunity property, because it was acquired during the marriage
- BHer separate property, because it was acquired by devise or descentcorrect
- CHalf hers and half her husband's, as tenants in common
- DCommunity property unless she records a schedule of separate property
Why: Family Code 3.001 makes property acquired during marriage by gift, devise or descent the spouse's separate property, along with property owned before marriage. Acquiring it during the marriage does not make it community property when it came by inheritance. Recording a schedule of separate property under 3.004 affects notice to good faith purchasers and creditors, not whether the house is separate.
Property ownership

Where intestate succession sits in the exam vocabulary

Intestate Succession is a involuntary transfer of title, and so are escheat, adverse possession and eminent domain. That matters more than it sounds: a multiple-choice item builds its wrong answers out of siblings like these, because they are the options that look plausible to someone who has learned the category but not the distinction. If intestate succession appears as the correct answer, expect to see escheat and adverse possession on the same screen.

Related exam terms

Tested alongside

Intestate Succession belongs to the involuntary transfer of title family of exam concepts. When it is solid, take the free real estate exam prep or browse the full real estate exam vocabulary.