Opinion ID: 1894641
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Distribution Under the USDL

Text: ¶ 12. Jeanette's interpretation of the Section 91-3-5 would deem Martha an heir at law of Byron's estate and not exclude her. She cites no authority in support of such an interpretation. However, the chancellor was correct in his finding that the USDL would eliminate both Byron and Martha as heirs to each other's estate. As quoted above, if the USDL applies, the property of each person shall be disposed of as if he had survived.... Miss.Code Ann. § 91-3-5. ¶ 13. The Kansas Court of Appeals' decision in Estate of Schweizer v. Estate of Schweizer, 7 Kan.App.2d 128, 638 P.2d 378 (1981), is illuminating as an example of the practical application of a simultaneous death statute. In Schweizer, Roland and Nancy Schweizer were killed in an accident in which it was impossible to determine the order of death. 638 P.2d at 379. The administratrix of Nancy's estate filed a claim in Roland's estate for a spouse's share. Id. Affirming the trial court's conclusion that neither Nancy nor her distributees had an interest in Roland's estate, the Court gave the following explanation of Kansas's simultaneous death statute in action: In this case, the estate of Mrs. Schweizer, because she is presumed to have died before Mr. Schweizer, is not entitled to a share. Likewise, Mr. Schweizer's estate is not entitled to any share of Mrs. Schweizer's estate, because in her probate case she is presumed to have survived him. Id. See In re Estate of Parisi, 328 Ill. App.3d 75, 262 Ill.Dec. 297, 765 N.E.2d 123, 127-28 (2002) (stating [e]ach individual's property passes to that individual's relatives and not to the other person's relatives ... Thus, neither decedent inherits from the other.). See also In re Spatafora's Estate, 35 Misc.2d 128, 229 N.Y.S.2d 601 (N.Y.Surr.Ct.1962). Byron's property was properly distributed as if he had survived Martha, meaning in effect that, for purposes of distribution under the USDL, she predeceased him, thereby leaving Hunter Keith Miller as Byron's sole heir at law.