Who Are the Heirs-at-Law in Intestacy?

Probate research firm Kemp and Associates has been in operation for more than half a century, and its staff members possess more than 500 combined years of industry experience. Using modern investigative techniques, Kemp and Associates locates beneficiaries and helps them claim their inheritance. Most of Kemp & Associates’ cases involve estates with no wills.

When a person dies without leaving a will, he or she is said to have died intestate. How the property is distributed among heirs depends largely on the state in which the person lived. If some of the property is in another state, the property is subject to that state’s intestate succession laws.

However, most states have similar succession laws. In the case of intestacy, the deceased person’s spouse and children are first in line to inherit. If any of the children have died, their children (the deceased’s grandchildren) inherit their parent’s share. If the deceased left no surviving spouse or children, his or her parents, siblings, grandparents, or other relatives inherit the property.