If the only surviving relatives are the grandparents and their issue, how is the estate divided under NY intestacy?

• A. Entire estate to paternal grandparents
• B. Entire estate to maternal grandparents
• C. One-half to paternal grandparents and one-half to maternal grandparents
• D. The estate escheats to the state

Answer: (C)

In New York intestacy, when there is no surviving spouse or issue, the estate goes to collateral kin by representation. If the only surviving relatives are the grandparents and their issue on both sides, the estate is divided equally between the two sides—the paternal line and the maternal line. Each side then passes its share to that line’s descendants by per stirpes (through the grandparents’ issue), so the paternal half goes to the paternal grandparents’ descendants and the maternal half to the maternal grandparents’ descendants.

This 50/50 split happens because both sides are equally near in kinship once you’ve ruled out the parents and other closer relatives. The estate does not escheat to the state, and it is not given entirely to one side, since both lines have living descendants.