Legal Definitions - collateral descendant

A collateral descendant is a relative who shares a common ancestor with the deceased person, but is not a direct descendant. This means that they are not the deceased person's child or grandchild, but could be a sibling, cousin, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew.

For example, if John Smith dies without a will, his property will go to his direct descendants first, such as his children or grandchildren. If he has no direct descendants, then his property may go to his collateral descendants, such as his siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, or uncles.

However, some states have restrictions on how far removed a collateral descendant can be from the deceased person in order to inherit property. For instance, North Carolina only allows inheritance by collateral heirs who are within five degrees of kinship to the deceased person. This means that if a person is more than five generations removed from the deceased person, they cannot inherit any property.

Overall, collateral descendants are important in inheritance law because they may have a claim to property if there are no direct descendants or if the deceased person did not leave a will.

• John's sister, Mary, is his collateral descendant because they share a common ancestor, but she is not his direct descendant.
• Tom's cousin, Sarah, is his collateral descendant because they share a common ancestor, but she is not his direct descendant.
• Emily's aunt, Susan, is her collateral descendant because they share a common ancestor, but she is not her direct descendant.

These examples illustrate how collateral descendants are related to the deceased person, but are not their direct descendants. They may inherit property if there are no direct descendants or if the deceased person did not leave a will.