certain heirs a minimum share of an estate, adult children generally do not have an automatic right to inherit a parent’s property simply because they are biological or adopted children. Estate laws vary by state, however, and individual circumstances can change the analysis.
This is important to understand clearly, because many parents carry a vague assumption — sometimes even a guilty sense of obligation — that their children are legally entitled to whatever they leave behind simply by virtue of the relationship. That assumption is not generally accurate under U.S. estate law for independent adult children.
As long as you have the legal capacity to create or update your estate documents and the assets are yours to distribute, you can generally establish beneficiaries according to your wishes, subject to applicable law and any rights that may exist because of circumstances such as marriage, joint ownership, beneficiary designations, or other legal arrangements.
