Also known as: sucesion legitima · sucesiones legítimas · intestate succession · legal succession
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An inheritance process in which property passes according to statutory default rules when a decedent dies without a will disposing of all assets.
Sean Steele left a trust providing a class gift to his descendants without specifying shares. When the interest vested, only two living descendants remained. The property passed to those two in the shares they would have received if Sean had died intestate at that moment owning the assets.
Samantha Stone died owning a parcel of real property. No deed was executed after her death. Title passed directly to her heirs by operation of law under the applicable probate code.
Santiago Sanchez died intestate survived by an illegitimate child he had acknowledged. The child claimed an equal share with legitimate siblings. The court applied equal protection principles to permit the illegitimate child to inherit under state intestacy rules.
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Selena Singh died leaving both legitimate and illegitimate dependent children. The illegitimate children sought workers compensation death benefits. The court held that dependent children receive equal treatment regardless of legitimacy under the applicable succession rules.
Sebastian Santos died intestate leaving an unacknowledged illegitimate child. State law required formal acknowledgment for inheritance. The court enforced the requirement and denied the child a share of the estate.
Skylar Sullivan died intestate survived by a child born out of wedlock. The child sought to inherit but had not obtained a court order of filiation during the father's lifetime. The court denied the claim for failure to satisfy the statutory proof requirement.
Any part of a decedent's estate not effectively disposed of by will passes by intestate succession to the decedent's heirs. The will controls only the property it expressly addresses. The remaining assets are distributed according to the default statutory rules.
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The property is distributed among the class members living when the interest vests in possession. Distribution occurs in the shares the members would receive if the designated ancestor had died intestate owning the subject matter at that time.
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A surviving spouse takes the entire intestate estate when the decedent is survived only by descendants who are also descendants of the spouse. The statute awards the full estate to the spouse under that condition.
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A fee simple is inheritable by both lineal and collateral heirs. When the owner dies without a spouse or descendants, collateral relatives such as cousins take under the intestacy statute.
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…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…