Also known as: law of descent and distribution · descent and distribution laws · intestate succession · descent and distribution
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Statutory rules that determine the heirs entitled to a decedent's property and the shares each receives when the decedent dies without a valid will or when the will fails to dispose of all assets.
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Landon Long left a trust remainder to his descendants without specifying shares. When the trust terminated, only three grandchildren survived. The court distributed the assets equally among those three living descendants according to the shares they would have received if Landon had died intestate at that moment.
Lillian Locke died owning a warehouse that passed outside her will. The probate court applied the statutes of descent and distribution to transfer title directly to her two surviving siblings. No deed from the estate was required to perfect the siblings' ownership.
Lamar Lewis owned undivided interests in tribal land that became subject to federal restrictions upon his death. His heirs received the interests through intestate succession rules rather than any will provision. The court confirmed that the laws of descent and distribution controlled allocation among the surviving family members.
Lily Lopez died intestate survived by two children born outside marriage. The court applied the laws of descent and distribution to grant both children equal shares. The prior distinction based on legitimacy was rejected as unconstitutional.
Lola Langley died owning fractional Indian trust lands with no will. Her surviving relatives claimed the interests under state intestacy statutes. The court held that the laws of descent and distribution supplied heirs and blocked automatic escheat to the government.
Lorenzo Lugo died intestate without spouse or descendants. His estate passed to collateral relatives including cousins under the applicable statutes of descent and distribution. The court ordered equal division among the qualifying heirs in the collateral line.
Any property not effectively disposed of by will passes under the laws of descent and distribution to the decedent's heirs. The will controls only the assets it addresses. The remaining assets form the intestate estate and are distributed according to the statutory scheme.
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A formal adoption establishes a parent-child relationship for purposes of intestate succession. The adopted child qualifies as an heir and takes under the statutory distribution scheme. Courts apply the same rules that govern biological children.
…this case is the constitutionality of § 12 of the Illinois Probate Act[^maj-1] which allows illegitimate children to inherit by intestate succession only from their mothers. Under Illinois law, legitimate children are allowed to inherit by intestate succession from both their mothers and their fathers.[^maj-2] I Appellant Deta…
…Congress had plenary authority to abolish the power of testamentary disposition of Indian property and to alter the rules of intestate succession. App. to Juris. Statement 21a-26a. The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed. Irving v. Clark , 758 F. 2d 1260 (1985). Although it agreed that appellees had no vested rights in…
…or in preventing them from assigning them is notorious. The several States, of course, have traditionally regulated the descent and distribution
…provisions are assailed by the plaintiffs in error as an unconstitutional interference with the rights of the States to regulate descent and distribution
…The will, which was prepared by defendant, a notary public, was denied probate for lack of sufficient attestation. Plaintiff, by intestate succession
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De facto parentage can establish a parent-child relationship when the functional parent assumed parental responsibilities over an extended period. Courts examine facts such as housing, financial support, and public acknowledgment. Recognition allows the individual to inherit under the laws of descent and distribution.
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A court decree of separation that does not terminate the marriage leaves the surviving spouse eligible to take under the laws of descent and distribution. Only a divorce or annulment removes the status. The spouse may therefore receive the entire intestate estate when statutory conditions are met.
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Modern antilapse statutes may create a substitute gift for the descendants of a protected class member. The laws of descent and distribution supply the default shares if no antilapse rule or will provision applies. The court counts the deceased class member and substitutes the surviving descendants.
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