Data Collection and Evaluation

Although they may seem to operate like simple electronic questionnaires that give a predetermined response to a every user click, each one of these fifty programs actually evaluate each item of user input on an individual basis at the moment that data is provided.

In fact, the apparent simplicity of each Intestacy Calculator's operation is a demonstration of their efficiency and effectiveness.

While the programs provide immediate responses to each user selection, the information collected from the individual user selections is evaluated along with all existing data collected through prior user responses. 

This combined data is then compared to the appropriate intestate laws, which allows the current Intestacy Calculator^TM to determine whether it has enough information to designate the legal heirs according to those laws.

With sufficient information, the program applies the data to the system of those laws, determines the appropriate heirs and calculates the correct distribution among them according to the individual family and financial facts revealed by the user provided data. 

If the program doesn't have enough data, it uses all existing information to determine what is the most relevant, absent information that will allow it to correctly determine the legal heirs and calculate the appropriate intestate estate distribution by collecting only the minimum amount of data that is necessary to meet this purpose.

Example: Texas Intestacy Calculator ^TM

For instance, when a Texas user indicates there aren't any deceased siblings by selecting "No" to the "Do you have any deceased siblings" question, in order to provide the most appropriate response, the Texas Intestacy Calculator^TM must immediately determine whether the user has: 1) a spouse, 2) two living parents, 3) one living parent, 4) a living sibling and, if so, 5) any living half-blood siblings, and, if any one of the preceding, the 6) community property value, 7) separate property value, and 8) real estate value. 

If, however, the user data does not indicate at least one of the preceding, the Texas Intestacy Calculator^TM must begin requesting information regarding maternal and paternal grandparents and, depending upon the user answers to each of these individual prompts, living and deceased aunts on each respective side of the family, and so on.

Similarly, when a user indicates there is at least one deceased sibling with surviving issue, the program must evaluate all of the preceding steps to determine whether the most appropriate response is to 1) question the number of deceased siblings that are half-blood relations, 2) question the number of living nieces and nephews by these deceased siblings, 3) calculate the appropriate distribution of the intestate estate, or 4) begin requesting information regarding maternal and paternal grandparents, and so on.

Although the evaluation of all of this information and individual factors is initiated by the single act of selecting "No" to the "Do you have any deceased siblings" question, the subsequent and most appropriate response from the program is immediately calculated and displayed. 

Many of the more interesting functions are performed at levels beyond the "Spouse and Child" level of relation. 

For instance, Maryland considers the paternal grandparents of the decedent's father separately from decedent's father's maternal grandparents, as well as separate from both the decedent's mother's paternal grandparents and the decedent's mother's maternal grandparents, including separately from all of the issue of each of these four categories.

Missouri divides the intestate estate equally among the grandparents and their children, but by representation among the issue of the grandparents children.  In addition to this method, Missouri divides the estate among the heirs of multiple predeceased spouses, which may also include use of the above method with respect to the grandparents of the predeceased spouse or spouses.

It is just as interesting that in addition to calculating the correct distribution among these different classes, these programs also determine what information is needed to make the correct calculation and when it is appropriate to collect that data.

The immediacy of these program responses can easily overshadow the complexity of its evaluations and, perhaps, make them seem rather simple or rudimentary.

Per Stirpes Calculator ^TM

As the Per Stirpes Calculator^TM demonstrates, providing answers with greater detail than "The children or grandchildren of each of your individually deceased children will share $5,000" requires each program to acquire and evaluate much more data than necessary to demonstrate how the law divides the estate. 

Of course, these answers can simply be plugged into the Per Stirpes Calculator^TM  to see how the $5,000 will be divided among the user's grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren; including up to 125 different levels of family relation.