- simultaneous death act
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si·mul·ta·ne·ous death act /ˌsī-məl-'tā-nē-əs-/ n: an act providing for the disposition of property or insurance benefits when there is no sufficient evidence that persons (as spouses) died other than simultaneously (as in an accident)◇ The simultaneous death act is a uniform act that has been adopted by most states. It covers situations where the title to or transfer of property depends on priority of death. In general, for determining the disposal of property, each decedent is considered to have survived the other, and an insured individual is considered to have survived a beneficiary.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- simultaneous death act
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n.A law stating that in cases where distribution of property depends on the time that a person dies, and where two people die simultaneously or close enough together that it is impossible to determine who died first (such as when husband and wife perish together in an airplane crash), the law will presume that each died before the other and their property should be distributed accordingly.
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
- simultaneous death act
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A statute in effect in most states that helps determine inheritance among beneficiaries who die at the same time. The statutes provide that if spouses, siblings, or other beneficiaries die simultaneously, or if it cannot be determined who died first, then it is presumed that each died before the other.Category: Wills, Trusts & Estates → Wills
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- Simultaneous Death Act
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n. A Uniform Simultaneous Death Act is a uniform law suggested in 1940, revised in 1993, and subsequently adopted by almost every state, whereby if two persons who are mutual beneficiaries die within 120 hours of each other, each is presumed to have died before the other, so that half the property of each passes to the estate of the other.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- simultaneous death act
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n.a statute in effect in most states which provides that if a husband and wife or siblings die in an accident in which they died at the same moment or it cannot be determined who died first, it is presumed that each died before the other for determining inheritance.See also: descent and distribution
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.