Who will receive assets when elder passes?

Paul, I found this article here on Aging Care that should be helpful. https://www.agingcare.com/articles/estate-administration-probate-after-death-in-family-153107.htm

In NJ, a person goes to Probate Dept. If estate is over 20k, they r given the role of Administrator if under 20k an affidavite. The State gets involved when no will. It will be determined who r the closests living relatives. Of course, children come first. The Administor is usually a family member. See if the Probate Office in ur county has a booklet discribing ur State laws.

Google "dying intestate in [name of your state]." You should be able to find official information on what happens next fairly easily. Please come back if you're not getting anywhere.

You can also try "[name of state] probate laws" as a search topic.