The intestate immigrant

As I wrote in previous columns, immigrants are also one of the most-hit segments of the US population by COVID-19. Being a nurse myself, I know of several fellow nurses who have rendered unimaginable service in taking care of coronavirus patients. A few even died after being infected doing their job. What happens when an immigrant without a family dies in the US?

Here is a real life story that I personally know. I hope we can all learn from this.

Ray came to the US as a nurse and worked at various hospitals. Through the years he has amassed a wealth of experience. When COVID-19 struck, he volunteered to work at a COVID unit where his clinical expertise was sorely needed. A few months later, despite all the precautions he took, he himself was infected. After more than two months at the ICU with all the technological advances of US medicine as well as the dedicated team of professionals giving him the best treatment, Ray died. Sad as it is, it gets sadder when we realize that Ray died alone. He was single, no kids, no significant other. His other siblings lived in two other countries. His father, a widower, was in the Philippines. With travel restrictions, his immediate family cannot come to the US to give him a proper burial even if they wanted to. His nearest relative is a distant cousin living in another state.

So what happens if you are an immigrant in the US and you died with no next of kin?

First of all, if you don’t have one, you should make a will and a healthcare proxy by now. In your will, you should appoint who is your executor or administrator. In your healthcare proxy, you should have an agent designated to carry out your wishes in case you weren’t able to decide for yourself. Having no family, no kids, or no vast assets aren’t reasons not to make a will. In Ray's case, he died intestate, meaning he died without a will and he left significant assets in terms of real and personal properties. As I mentioned, he was single with no children. His only heirs are his father and siblings who are three continents away. It took more than a week for his body to be taken out of the morgue because of paperwork. Each state has its own rules of intestacy that determines how the estate should be distributed in the order of precedence. In his case, since Ray didn’t have a spouse and children, his estate will be divided according to the laws of the state where he domiciled.

Second, all states have different rules in burying dead bodies with no identified family or next of kin and in taking over these decedents' estates. Usually, the state has an office that runs a program for this type of need.

Third, we go back to the importance of having a will. If a person dies without a will, with no relatives and no next of kin, his estate generally reverts to the government. The state now technically owns his estate. Had he made a will, Ray could have designated an executor and identified his heirs. He could also have had total control how his estate will be divided --be it to his heirs or to charities of his choice. In his case, it would take a longer time for his heirs who are all abroad, to inherit his estate as the US state court would have to go through the intestate proceedings without their physical presence in the US.