heir at law
Default estate recipient
An heir at law is a person entitled to inherit property from someone who dies without a valid will.
The term distinguishes those with automatic legal inheritance rights—typically spouses and blood relatives—from heirs named in a will.
Laws of intestate succession determine which relatives qualify and in what order: The court identified his sister as the sole heir at law.
Will validation proceedings
- decedentLegal term for deceased
- testateHaving left a will
- intestacyEstateless death condition
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
next of kin · executor · beneficiary · devisee · legatee · fiduciary · guardianship · codicil
Property and grounds
- intestateHaving made no will
- successionFollowing in order
- patrimonyInherited estate or legacy
- entailmentLogical necessity from premises
birthright · descent · devise · bequest · legacy · endowment · hereditary · heritable
probate
Will validation proceedings
administration · next of kin · executor · beneficiary · devisee · legatee · fiduciary · guardianship · codicil · will
estate
Property and grounds
- intestateHaving made no will
- successionFollowing in order
- patrimonyInherited estate or legacy
entailment · birthright · descent · devise · bequest · legacy · endowment · hereditary · heritable · inherited
bloodline
Ancestry through generations
pedigree · forebears · ancestors · progenitors · dynasty · clan · heritage · kinfolk · forefathers · primogeniture