Estate Value

The intestate estate basically includes all individually owned personal belongings and real estate, as well as any cash held in an individually titled deposit account. 

The estate also includes the equity of any individually owned property which is encumbered by a loan.  For instance, a $250,000 house with a $100,000 mortgage will provide $150,000 to the decedent's estate.

It is important to note that the intestate distribution of real estate is governed by the state of its physical location, not the owner's state of residence.  For instance, Frank is a New York resident who has a $500,000 intestate estate, of which $150,000 is a vacation home located in Florida.  Frank will include $350,000 in the Intestacy Calculator for New York and $150,000 in the Intestacy Calculator for Florida to determine how his property will be divided.

Jointly owned property may also belong to the estate, but this depends upon how title to the property is held by the owners.  For instance, property owned with the "right of survivorship" is not a part of the estate, but automatically passes to the surviving owners upon the death of any one of them.

The estate will not include the value of any community property, as this is normally distributed in a manner that differs from the remainder of the estate.  Community property distribution is included with the individual Intestacy Calculators for those states that distribute community property between the spouse and others in a manner that differs from the distribution of individually owned property.