When someone dies without a will in Alabama, intestate succession decides who inherits. The surviving spouse’s share ranges from half the estate to all of it, depending on whether the deceased also left children or parents. Anything not going to the spouse passes to children first, then to parents, then outward to siblings and more distant relatives. These rules only govern property that passes through probate.
What the Surviving Spouse Inherits
A spouse’s share depends entirely on which other close relatives survived. Alabama sets four scenarios:
- No children and no surviving parents: the spouse takes the entire estate.
- No children, but one or both parents survive: the spouse gets the first $100,000 plus half of the rest. The remaining half goes to the parent or parents.
- Children who are all also children of the surviving spouse: the spouse gets the first $50,000 plus half of the rest. The children divide the remainder.
- At least one child who is not a child of the surviving spouse: the spouse gets half the estate with no dollar amount off the top. The children divide the other half.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-41 – Share of the Spouse
The gap between the third and fourth scenarios matters. In a blended family where the deceased had a child from a prior relationship, the $50,000 cushion disappears and the spouse’s guaranteed share drops accordingly.
What the Children Inherit
Whatever the spouse does not take, the deceased’s children split equally. If there is no spouse, the children take the whole estate. Alabama recognizes biological and legally adopted children. Stepchildren inherit nothing under intestacy unless they were formally adopted.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-42 – Share of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse
If a child died before the parent, that child’s share does not disappear. Alabama passes it “by representation” to that child’s own children, meaning the grandchildren step into their parent’s place. When all the grandchildren in a branch are of the same generation, they split the share equally.
Half-Blood, Posthumous Children, and Paternity
Half-siblings inherit the same share as full siblings. The statute is explicit that relatives of the half blood take exactly what they would take if they were of the whole blood.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-46 – Inheritance by Relatives of Half Blood
A child conceived before the parent’s death but born afterward has the same inheritance rights as any other child.4Justia. Alabama Code 35-4-8 – Posthumous Children Included in Heirs, Issue or Children
A child is automatically the mother’s heir. To inherit from the father, the child must have been born of a marriage ceremony (even a legally void one), have paternity established by a court before the father’s death, or have paternity proven afterward by clear and convincing evidence. The rule cuts both ways: a father cannot inherit from a child unless he openly treated the child as his own and did not refuse to support the child.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-48 – Parent and Child Relationship
What Parents Inherit
If the deceased leaves no spouse and no children, the entire estate goes to the parents in equal shares. If only one parent survives, that parent takes everything.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-42 – Share of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse
Alabama’s intestacy rules do not weigh the quality of the relationship. A parent who has had no contact with the deceased for decades still inherits, unless a court previously terminated that parent’s legal rights.
Siblings and More Distant Relatives
With no spouse, children, or parents, the estate passes to the deceased’s siblings in equal shares. After siblings, the line runs to nieces and nephews, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles, and outward from there.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-42 – Share of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse
If no qualifying heirs can be found anywhere in the family tree, the estate escheats to the State of Alabama. Courts work to locate heirs before that happens, but it does occur with small estates where a thorough heir search would cost more than the estate is worth.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-44 – When Estate Passes to State
The Five-Day Survival Requirement
To inherit under Alabama’s intestacy laws, an heir has to outlive the deceased by at least five days. An heir who dies inside that window is treated as though they died first, and the share moves to the next person in line. If the exact time of either death cannot be pinned down, Alabama presumes the potential heir did not survive the five days.
Which Assets These Rules Actually Cover
Intestate succession only reaches assets that pass through probate. That is a narrower category than most people expect. It usually includes property the deceased owned individually with no beneficiary designation: real estate held in the deceased’s name alone, personal belongings, and bank accounts without a payable-on-death designation.
Several common asset types skip probate entirely and go directly to whoever is named:
- Jointly owned property with survivorship rights passes to the surviving co-owner.
- Life insurance proceeds go to the named beneficiary.
- Retirement accounts, including 401(k)s and IRAs, go to the designated beneficiary.
- Assets held in a valid trust are controlled by the trust document.
- Bank accounts with payable-on-death designations transfer to the named person.
Someone can technically “inherit the entire estate” under intestacy and still receive very little if most of the deceased’s wealth sat in retirement accounts, life insurance, or jointly held property that moved outside probate.
Allowances That Come Off the Top
Before heirs get their shares, and before most creditors get paid, Alabama sets aside three allowances for the surviving spouse and dependent children. These stack on top of whatever the spouse or children receive through intestate succession.
- Homestead allowance: $15,000 to the surviving spouse. With no spouse, the minor and dependent children split that amount. The figure is adjusted periodically for inflation.
- Exempt property: up to $7,500 in household furniture, vehicles, appliances, and personal effects, above any security interests such as car loans. Without a spouse, the children take this jointly. This figure is also adjusted for inflation; as of the most recent published adjustment, the amount was $9,400.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-111 – Exempt Property
- Family allowance: a reasonable cash allowance from the estate to the surviving spouse and any minor children the deceased was supporting, paid during probate. No fixed dollar cap, but if the estate cannot cover its debts, the allowance is limited to one year.8Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-112 – Family Allowance
Even when an estate is insolvent, the homestead and exempt property allowances outrank creditor claims.
Lifetime Gifts Counted as Advancements
A large gift the deceased made during their lifetime only reduces the recipient’s intestate share under narrow conditions. Alabama treats the gift as an “advancement” only if the deceased put it in writing at the time of the gift, or the recipient acknowledged it in writing as an advancement.9Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-8-49 – Advancements
Without that written documentation, even a six-figure gift has no effect on intestate shares. The property is valued either when the heir received it or at the date of death, whichever comes first. If the heir who received the advancement dies before the person who made the gift, the advancement is not charged against that heir’s children unless the written declaration says otherwise.
Debts Are Paid Before Heirs
Estate debts get paid before heirs receive anything. Creditors generally have six months from the date letters of administration are granted, or five months from the first published notice, whichever deadline falls later. Claims filed after that window are permanently barred.10Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 43-2-350 – Time and Manner of Filing Claims – Generally
When the estate cannot pay everyone, Alabama sets a strict priority order:
- Funeral expenses
- Administrative fees and court costs
- Medical expenses from the final illness
- Taxes assessed before death
- Debts owed to employees for services in the year of death
- All other debts
Heirs receive only what remains after every category is satisfied. If the estate is insolvent, heirs may get nothing, though the spouse and minor children still keep the statutory allowances that outrank creditors.