Legal Definitions - Survivor

A survivor, in a legal context, refers to an individual who outlives another person or the occurrence of a specific event, and whose continued existence legally qualifies them to receive assets, benefits, or property.

• Inheritance by a Child

  Imagine a situation where a parent passes away, leaving behind a will that specifies their assets are to be divided among their children. In this scenario, any child who is still alive at the time of the parent's death is considered a survivor. Their status as a living child, as designated in the will, entitles them to receive a portion of the parent's estate.

• Life Insurance Beneficiary

  Consider a person who purchases a life insurance policy and names their sibling as the sole beneficiary. If the policyholder dies, their sibling, being alive at the time of the policyholder's death, is the survivor. As the designated beneficiary, the sibling is legally entitled to receive the financial payout from the life insurance policy.

• Joint Property Ownership with Right of Survivorship

  Suppose two business partners own a commercial property together under a legal arrangement called "joint tenancy with right of survivorship." This means that if one partner dies, their share of the property automatically passes to the other owner, rather than going through their estate. The partner who is still alive after the death of the other is the survivor, and their survival legally entitles them to full ownership of the entire property.