Section 2-103
Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the decedent's surviving spouse under section 2-102, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes in the following order to the individuals designated below who survive the decedent:
- (1) to the decedent's descendants per capita at each generation;
- (2) if there is no surviving descendant, to the decedent's parents equally if both survive, or to the surviving parent;
- (3) if there is no surviving descendant or parent, to the descendants of the decedent's parents or either of them per capita at each generation;
- (4) if there is no surviving descendant, parent, or descendant of a parent, then equally to the decedent's next of kin in equal degree; but if there are 2 or more descendants of deceased ancestors in equal degree claiming through different ancestors, those claiming through the nearest ancestor shall be preferred to those claiming through an ancestor more remote. Degrees of kindred shall be computed according to the rules of civil law.
Comment
This section provides for inheritance by lineal descendants of the decedent, parents and their descendants, and other ancestors and collateral relatives labeled “next of kin”, similar to G.L. c. 190 § 2.
In general the principle of per capita at each generation representation (which is defined in Section 2-106) is adopted as the pattern which most decedents would prefer.
If the pattern of this section is not desired, it may be avoided by a properly executed will or, after the decedent's death, by renunciation by particular heirs under Section 2-801.
The word “descendants” replaces the word “issue” in this section and throughout Article II. The term issue is a term of art having a biological connotation. Now that inheritance rights, in certain cases, are extended to adopted children, the term descendants is a more appropriate term. See also Section 2-114, parent and child relationship.