# Legal standing of a fetus in regards to inheritance

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-standing-of-a-fetus-in-regards-to-inheritance/1019405>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 10, 2025, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-standing-of-a-fetus-in-regards-to-inheritance/1019405 "2025-06-10T00:58:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-standing-of-a-fetus-in-regards-to-inheritance/1019405/1 "2025-06-10T00:58:07Z")

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Asking for legal advice here, but it’s not practical, just theoretical, and therefor I don’t need answers fast.

Inheritance is left to the children of X divided equally. X has 2 born children and one fetus. Does the fetus get anything? If so when?

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-standing-of-a-fetus-in-regards-to-inheritance/1019405/2 "2025-06-10T01:08:30Z")

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> **[Legal Fetal Personhood Timeline in the US](https://legalvoice.org/legal-fetal-personhood-timeline/)**
>
> Visit the post for more.

IANAL and I don’t play one on TV.

It will depend upon the will and the respective state law governing the will.

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**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-standing-of-a-fetus-in-regards-to-inheritance/1019405/3 "2025-06-10T01:35:20Z")

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At common law, a child _en ventre sa mere_, as they say, will indeed inherit, provided it is born alive and survives for at least a reasonable period (generally taken to mean about month).

The common law rule may, of course, be modified or overridden by legislation in any jurisdiction, but in most jurisdictions that I know of the common law rule, or a statutory version of it, is still in force.

This has implications that carry over into other areas of law. For example, if somebody dies and as a result payments are due under an insurance policy, or under workers’ compensation legislation or the like, to their dependants, a posthumously-born child can typically claim as a dependant of the deceased.

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**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2025, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-standing-of-a-fetus-in-regards-to-inheritance/1019405/4 "2025-06-12T03:13:12Z")

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An old thread I replied in.  
[What is the current US legal status of a fetus with respect to legal rights? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-current-us-legal-status-of-a-fetus-with-respect-to-legal-rights/160356)