We can help you save money on probate in all Alabama counties

Alabama Intestate Law: Intestacy, Intestate Succession, and Heirs at Law

It’s best to find out quickly whether the deceased person left a valid Alabama Last Will and Testament.  If not, the person is said to have died intestateIntestate and  intestacy are terms used to refer to the condition of having died without a will.


When a person dies intestate, the Alabama laws of intestacy will kick in to provide for distribution of the intestate decedent’s assets.  This scheme of distribution may be referred to as intestate succession, intestate distribution or the laws of intestacy.  These laws represent the Alabama legislature’s best guess as to what most people would want to happen to their assets.


    1. If the decedent didn’t leave parents or children, the spouse gets everything.
    1. Children and their descendants;
    2. Parents;
    3. Brothers and sisters, or, if all are deceased, nieces and nephews;
    5. The State of Alabama.

Within the various categories of heirs, each descendant of equal degree inherits equally and descendants of unequal degree inherit by representation (dividing the share that their parents would have taken).  So, for example, if a person dies with three living children, each child would get one-third.  If one of the three children had died but left descendants (i.e., grandchildren of the decedent), those descendants would share in the deceased child’s one-third.

When several individuals are entitled to property under Alabama’s intestate laws, they take title as tenants in common in proportion to their respective rights.  So, for example, if six children are entitled to inherit the decedent’s one piece of real estate, each child would have a one-sixth interest in the entire property.  Note that this does not mean that each child would own one-sixth of the property (i.e., that the property itself is divided), but that each child has a one-sixth interest in the property as a whole.