heir

1. A person who inherits or is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another.
2. A person who succeeds or is in line to succeed to a hereditary rank, title, or office.
3. One who receives or is expected to receive a heritage, as of ideas, from a predecessor.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin hērēs.]

For more information on heir, visit Britannica.com.

A person who inherits some or all of the estate of a recently deceased person. The legal successor is usually selected because they are related to the deceased by a direct bloodline or have been designated in a will or by a legal authority.

Investopedia Says:
Originating in feudal times, the heir was usually the oldest male child in the family.

Related Links:
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If you're a beneficiary of a retirement account, you should know your distribution options. Inherited Retirement Plan Assets - Part 1
To take full advantage of new RMD regulations, beneficiaries need to take action before important deadlines. Inherited Retirement Plan Assets - Part 2
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One who inherits some or all of the estate of a deceased person by virtue of being in the direct line (heir of the body), or being designated in a will or by a legal authority (heir at law).

One who inherits Property.
Example: A person can decide on heirs by leaving a Valid will. If one dies Intestate state laws determine who the heirs are.

An individual who receives an interest in, or ownership of, land, tenements, or hereditaments from an ancestor who has died intestate, through the laws of descent and distribution. At common law, an heir was the individual appointed by law to succeed to the estate of an ancestor who died without a will. It is commonly used today in reference to any individual who succeeds to property, either by will or law.

An heir of the body is an heir who was either conceived or born of the individual who has died, or a child of such heir. This type of heir is anyone who descends lineally from the decedent, excluding a surviving spouse, adopted children, and collateral relatives. Ordinarily, property can be given by will to anyone named or can be shared by all heirs, but historically, the owner of an entail could only pass his or her property on to heirs of the body. This type of inheritance is largely abolished by statute today.

Tutor's tip: A poet may say that we breathe "air" (oxygen and gases) "e'er" (forever). To "err" is to make a mistake; to be an "heir" is to be one who inherits property or money.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - arving, arvtager

idioms:

• heir apparent    retmæssig arving, tronarving, efterfølger
• heir at law    intestatarving, arving af fast ejendom

Nederlands (Dutch)
erfgenaam, opvolger, erfgerechtigde

Français (French)
n. - héritier

idioms:

• heir apparent    prince héritier, présomptif (sauf changement dans l'ordre de succession)
• heir at law    héritier légitime

Deutsch (German)
n. - Erbe

idioms:

• heir apparent    rechtmäßiger Erbe
• heir at law    Erbe durch Blutsrecht

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (νομ., μτφ.) κληρονόμος, διάδοχος

idioms:

• heir apparent    (νομ.) αναγκαίος κληρονόμος
• heir at law    (νομ.) νόμιμος κληρονόμος

Italiano (Italian)
erede

idioms:

• heir apparent    erede in linea diretta
• heir at law    erede legittimo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - herdeiro (m)

idioms:

• heir apparent    herdeiro (m) aparente
• heir at law    herdeiro (m) legal

Русский (Russian)
наследник, адепт, преемник, наследовать

idioms:

• heir apparent    бесспорный наследник
• heir at law    наследник по закону

Español (Spanish)
n. - heredero

idioms:

• heir apparent    heredero forzoso
• heir at law    heredero legítimo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - arvinge

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
继承人, 后嗣

idioms:

• heir apparent    当然继承人, 法定继承人
• heir at law    法定继承人

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 繼承人, 後嗣

idioms:

• heir apparent    當然繼承人, 法定繼承人
• heir at law    法定繼承人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 상속인, 후계자

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 相続人, 跡取り, 後継者, 継承者

idioms:

• heir apparent    法定推定相続人, 後継者
• heir at law    法定相続人

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الوريث‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮יורש‬

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