Disclaimer of a share in an intestate estate results in the disclaimed share being distributed as though the disclaiming heir predeceased the decedent.

• A. It goes to the surviving spouse
• B. It is distributed among the remaining heirs as if the disclaiming heir predeceased
• C. It escheats to the state
• D. It passes to the heirs designated by the DISCLAIMING heir

Answer: (B)

When someone disclaims an inheritance in an intestate estate, the law treats that disclaimed share as if the disclaims had died before the decedent. As a result, the portion of the estate that would have gone to the disclaimed heir is redistributed among the remaining heirs according to the statutes that govern intestate succession. This means the remaining heirs take that share just as if the disclaimed heir predeceased, and the overall distribution is recalculated accordingly.

For example, if there’s a surviving spouse and children, and one child disclaims, the spouse and the surviving child receive the inheritance subject to the intestate rules, with the disclaimed share now flowing to the other heirs as if that child had died before the decedent. The other options don’t fit because the disclaimed share does not automatically go to the spouse in all cases, nor does it escheat to the state unless there are no heirs at all, and the disclaimed share isn’t something the dis claiming heir could designate after death.