If an Alabama resident dies without a valid will, § 43-8-41 and § 43-8-42 decide who inherits. The spouse does not automatically take everything.
The surviving spouse takes the whole estate only where there is no surviving issue and no surviving parent. In every other case the estate is divided, and in a blended family the spouse takes just one half.
The surviving spouse’s share
| Family situation | Spouse receives |
|---|---|
| No surviving issue, no surviving parent | The entire intestate estate |
| No surviving issue, but a surviving parent or parents | The first $100,000 in value, plus one-half of the balance |
| Surviving issue, all of whom are also issue of the surviving spouse | The first $50,000 in value, plus one-half of the balance |
| Surviving issue, one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse | One-half of the intestate estate |
The $100,000 and $50,000 thresholds come from Acts 1982, No. 82-399, and they are not indexed for inflation. What was a meaningful protection for a surviving spouse forty years ago is a much smaller one now.
If you want your spouse to receive more than the statute gives, the statute is not going to do it for you. A will is.
Ala. Code § 43-8-41.Everyone else
Whatever does not pass to the spouse — or the entire estate if there is no spouse — passes under § 43-8-42, in this order:
- To the issue of the decedent. Equally if all are of the same degree of kinship; if of unequal degree, those more remote take by representation.
- If no surviving issue, to the parent or parents equally.
- If no surviving issue or parent, to the issue of the parents — brothers and sisters, and their children — by representation.
- If none of the above, one half to the paternal grandparents or the survivor of them, or their issue; and one half to the maternal side in the same manner. If there is no grandparent or issue of a grandparent on one side, the entire estate passes to the other side.
The blended family problem
This is where Alabama intestacy most often produces a result nobody wanted.
Take a common Limestone County situation. A man remarries. He has two adult children from his first marriage. He and his second wife live in a house titled in his name alone. He dies without a will.
Because he has surviving issue who are not issue of his surviving spouse, § 43-8-41(4) gives his wife one-half of the intestate estate. His two children take the other half. His widow now co-owns her home with her two stepchildren.
Nobody in that story did anything wrong. There was simply no will, and the statute filled the gap the way the statute fills gaps.
Blended family and no will?
This is the single most common estate planning gap we see in North Alabama, and it is a straightforward fix. Call the Athens office.
What the surviving spouse gets regardless
Separate from the intestate share, Alabama gives a surviving spouse and minor children protected allowances that come off the top and are not defeated by creditors in the ordinary case.
| Allowance | Statute | Amount now in effect |
|---|---|---|
| Homestead allowance | § 43-8-110 | $18,800 |
| Family allowance | § 43-8-112 | $18,800 |
| Exempt property | § 43-8-111 | $9,400 |
Under § 43-8-116 the State Treasurer adjusts these amounts every three years for CPI, rounded to the nearest $25, and the adjusted figures apply to exemptions claimed on or after the April 1 following the adjustment date.
The next step up — $20,475 homestead, $20,475 family allowance and $10,225 exempt property — applies to exemptions claimed on or after 1 April 2027.
Ala. Code § 43-8-116; Alabama State Treasury CPI adjustment table.What intestacy cannot reach
None of this touches property that passes outside the estate. Life insurance, retirement accounts and payable-on-death accounts go to the named beneficiary by contract. Property held with survivorship goes to the co-owner by the deed. Assets in a funded trust are governed by the trust.
So the real answer to “who inherits” is usually a combination of the statute, the beneficiary forms and the deed — not the statute alone.
Fixing it
A valid Alabama will overrides the intestacy statutes entirely. Requirements under § 43-8-131: in writing, signed by the testator, and signed by at least two witnesses. Add a self-proving affidavit under § 43-8-132 and a bond waiver under § 43-2-851(c) while you are at it.
And check the beneficiary forms and the deed, because a will alone does not reach those.
Common Alabama inheritance questions
Does my spouse automatically inherit everything in Alabama?
Only where there is no surviving issue and no surviving parent. Otherwise § 43-8-41 divides the estate — the first $100,000 plus half where a parent survives, the first $50,000 plus half where all children are also the spouse’s, and just one half where any child is not the spouse’s.
What do stepchildren inherit in Alabama?
Stepchildren are not heirs under Alabama’s intestacy statutes unless they were legally adopted. If you want a stepchild to inherit, you have to say so in a will or name them on a beneficiary form.
Can I disinherit a child in Alabama?
Generally yes, by a validly executed will that makes the intention clear. Disinheriting a spouse is different — Alabama gives a surviving spouse an elective share and the family protections in §§ 43-8-110 to 43-8-113. Get advice before drafting either one.
Do grandchildren inherit in Alabama?
They can. Under § 43-8-42 the estate passes to the decedent’s issue, equally if all are of the same degree of kinship, and if of unequal degree those more remote take by representation. A grandchild whose parent died before the decedent generally steps into that parent’s share.
How long do heirs have to claim an inheritance in Alabama?
The pressing deadline is on the other side: § 43-2-43(b) gives the spouse and next of kin 40 days after the death is known to apply for letters of administration, after which they are held to have relinquished the right. Waiting can hand control of the estate to a creditor.
What happens if there are no relatives at all?
Section 43-8-42 works outward through issue, parents, issue of parents, and then the grandparents’ lines. Where no taker exists at all, the estate ultimately escheats to the State. It is rare, and it is avoidable with a will.
The statute is not a plan
If you would not choose what § 43-8-41 chooses, a will takes one appointment. Serving families across Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin and Lawrence Counties.
Daniel Shawn Pickens
Attorney at Daniel S. Pickens Law in Athens, Alabama. The firm handles estate planning, probate, real estate closings and title work, deeds, business formation and contracts for families and businesses across Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin and Lawrence Counties.
Questions about estate planning or probate? Email estateplanning@dsp.law or call 256-434-1678.
Daniel S. Pickens Law · 300 West Green Street, Athens, Alabama 35611