2025 Session Last amended: 1994 session

§ 524.2-104 — Requirement That Heir Survive Decedent for 120 Hours

Plain-Language Summary

To inherit from someone who died without a will in Minnesota, an heir must survive the deceased person by at least 120 hours (five days). If it cannot be proven that the heir survived by 120 hours, the heir is treated as having died first.

524.2-104 REQUIREMENT THAT HEIR SURVIVE DECEDENT FOR 120 HOURS.

An individual who fails to survive the decedent by 120 hours is deemed to have predeceased the decedent for purposes of homestead, exempt property, and intestate succession, and the decedent’s heirs are determined accordingly. If it is not established that an individual who would otherwise be an heir survived the decedent by 120 hours, it is deemed that the individual failed to survive for the required period. This section is not to be applied if its application would result in a taking of intestate estate by the state under section 524.2-105.

History:

1985 c 250 s 4; 1994 c 472 s 5

History: History: 1985 c 250 s 4; 1994 c 472 s 5

Practical Notes

When this applies: When a potential heir dies shortly after the person whose estate is being distributed. Who this affects: Heirs in situations where both the deceased person and the heir die close together in time, such as in an accident. Key points: The 120-hour (five-day) survival requirement prevents property from passing through a briefly surviving heir’s estate and then to that heir’s beneficiaries. This rule does not apply if enforcing it would cause the entire estate to go to the state (escheat).

Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes