legitimate heirs
Recognized inheritance recipients
Legitimate heirs are those legally entitled to inherit from someone who dies.
The phrase emphasizes rightful claim—by blood, marriage, or legal adoption—as opposed to illegitimate claimants or pretenders.
In historical contexts, legitimacy often hinged on whether parents were married: The king died without legitimate heirs.
The phrase appears in legal documents, wills, and disputes over succession.
- primogenitureEldest inherits all
- probate courtForum for inheritance disputes
- last willPosthumous asset instructions
- descendantsThose who come after
- next of kinNearest living family members
blood relative · progeny · bloodline · family lineage · line of descent · ancestry · royal succession · kinship · estate planning · tribal customs · noble titles · birthright · undue influence · ancestral estates · family tree · property rights · clan traditions · legal guardianship
- lineageancestry, royal dynasties, bloodline, noble houses, dynasty
- inheritanceinheritances, heirs, bequest, bequests, beneficiary
legitimate heirsbastards
Those born illegitimately
illegitimate children · natural children · love children · by-blows
legitimate heirspretenders
Those falsely claiming something
usurpers · impostors · interlopers · charlatans · trespassers
legitimate, legitimately, legitimacy, illegitimate, illegitimacy, legitimize, legitimization, heir, heiress