Also known as: lineal · lineals · lineal descendant · lineal heir
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A direct blood relative descending from a designated ancestor in the line of inheritance.
Liam Larson conveyed waterfront land to his nephew and the nephew's heirs. Upon the nephew's death without a will, the land passed to the nephew's daughter rather than to a distant cousin. The conveyance created an estate inheritable by lineal heirs under the applicable rule.
Layla Lane died leaving genetic material that later produced a child recognized under state law. The child claimed an intestate share as a lineal descendant. The court determined that the posthumously conceived child counted among the lineal heirs entitled to take.
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Leo Lang died intestate survived by two children and grandchildren. The probate court distributed the estate equally among the lineal descendants per stirpes. No collateral relatives received any portion under the statute.
Lydia Lowe devised her ranch to her son for life, remainder to his lineal descendants. After the son's death the remainder vested in his three children. The court enforced the limitation to lineal heirs only.
Lucas Lane adopted his stepdaughter and later died intestate. The court held the adopted child qualified as a lineal descendant entitled to the full intestate share. No distinction remained between biological and adopted lineal heirs.
Leonard Lutz disclaimed his inheritance from his father. The disclaimed property passed directly to Leonard's lineal children as if they had been named heirs. The disclaimer preserved the lineal chain of succession.
A lineal heir descends directly from the decedent in the blood line. A collateral heir shares ancestry but stands outside that direct descending line. The distinction determines priority in intestate succession under most state statutes.
Modern statutes and case law often recognize a posthumously conceived child as a lineal descendant when genetic and legal parentage are established. Recognition turns on whether the child is born within statutory time limits and whether the decedent consented to posthumous reproduction. Courts treat the child as standing in the same lineal position as children conceived before death.
Traditional language creating a fee simple allows inheritance by both lineal and collateral heirs. A limitation that restricts succession solely to lineal descendants typically creates a fee tail or defeasible fee rather than a fee simple absolute. The Restatement treats the broader inheritability as a defining feature of the fee simple.
…The more favorable treatment of illegitimate children claiming from their mothers' estates was justified because "proof of a lineal relationship is more readily ascertainable when dealing with maternal ancestors." Id., at 52 , 329 N. E. 2d, at 240. Alluding to the possibilities of abuse, the court rejected a…