Under the current Uniform Simultaneous Death Act, if the decedent dies on July 1 and the spouse dies July 7 (more than 5 days later), who inherits the decedent's intestate estate?

• A. The decedent's husband
• B. The decedent's sister
• C. The decedent's husband's brother
• D. Escheats to the state

Answer: (A)

The key concept is survivorship under the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act, which uses a five-day (120-hour) window to decide who is treated as having survived the other for purposes of intestate distribution. If two people die within that window, the usual rule is that neither is considered to have survived the other for inheritance purposes, so the deceased’s estate goes to his or her other heirs rather than to the spouse.

In this scenario, the decedent dies on July 1 and the spouse dies on July 7, which is more than five days later. The spouse was alive at the time of the decedent’s death, so the decedent is treated as having survived the spouse for purposes of intestate succession. Consequently, the decedent’s estate passes to the surviving spouse (the husband) under intestate rules. The later death of the spouse does not negate that inheritance.

If the two deaths had occurred within five days, the five-day rule would apply and the spouse would not inherit from the decedent's estate; instead, the estate would pass to other heirs or escheat if none exist.