If Mr. Jones dies intestate in 2018 survived by one daughter, Mary, one grandson, Bill (the child of a predeceased son), and three granddaughters, Nancy, Nora, and June (the children of a predeceased daughter), how will the estate be divided?

• A. Mary gets one-third, Bill, Nancy, Nora and June have the rest in equal shares.
• B. Mary gets one-fifth of the estate.
• C. Mary gets the entire estate.
• D. Mary gets one-third, Bill, Nancy, Nora, and June have the rest in equal shares.

Answer: (D)

Intestate distribution by representation (per stirpes) guides how the estate passes when there are surviving descendants through predeceased children. Here, Mr. Jones is survived by one living child, Mary, and by the issue of two predeceased children: Bill (son’s line) and Nancy, Nora, and June (daughter’s line). Since there is a living child, Mary takes a fixed share, and the shares that would have gone to the deceased children are divided among their issue.

That yields Mary receiving one-third of the estate. The remaining two-thirds go to the four grandchildren (Bill, Nancy, Nora, and June) in equal shares, so each grandchild gets one-sixth. There is no surviving spouse, so the distribution follows this line of representation among the descendants.