But inasmuch as Texas and the other 49 states must deal continually with the problem of how to dispose of property left by persons who fail to prepare wills, take it on faith that all 50 of them have enacted legislation that covers intestate individuals. What is vital for Sarah to understand is that the intestacy rules are going to decide where her property goes when she dies without a will, regardless of what she prefers and whether it makes sense from, say, the standpoint of taxes. Or the laws could cause her property to be divided in a way that gives most of it to cousins who are already wealthy. This means that when one joint owner dies, the other automatically becomes the owner. It's not just Sarah and other singles who overlook the need to prepare wills.
Married couples are no less remiss.
Many couples mistakenly think that they are relieved of the need to bother with wills because they own most of their property jointly. Or they think that it's just the husband who needs a will because the property automatically goes to the wife on his death or because she has little property in her own name. Those couples fail to consider what could happen if they are both involved in an accident, in which he dies and she lives for just a short while. Because she left no will, the assets would then pass under the intestacy laws to her family. Forget about the couple's understanding, say, about setting money aside for the education of his children from a former marriage.