Also known as: heirs of the body · bodily heir
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The lineal descendants of a designated ancestor who succeed to the ancestor's property under the applicable law of intestate succession if the ancestor had died owning the subject matter of the class gift.
Hannah Hale conveys land by deed to her son for life with remainder to the heirs of his body. When the son dies the class gift takes effect in possession. The living lineal descendants at that time receive shares determined by the intestate succession statute that would have applied if the son had died owning the land.
A testator places property in trust for his daughter Juliet for life with the corpus to vest at her death in the heirs of her body. Juliet dies without surviving lineal descendants. The property then descends to the testator's own living bodily heirs under the default clause of the will.
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When a conveyance grants a life estate followed by a remainder to the heirs of the life tenant's body the words enlarge the first taker's interest into a fee tail or its statutory substitute rather than leaving a bare life estate plus a separate remainder.
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The class is ascertained at the time the interest is to take effect in possession or enjoyment and consists of those lineal descendants then living who would take under intestate succession if the designated ancestor had died at that moment owning the property.
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No. The spouse of the designated ancestor is excluded from the class of heirs of the body unless the instrument expressly includes the spouse.
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Adopted children are not heirs of the body of the adoptive parent under traditional rules because they are not lineal descendants by blood.
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