This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/2VB.2ACE/491.1 Message Board Post: "Heirs at law" is another term for "heirs" -- those who are legally entitled to inherit from an estate. The term does not necessarily mean "children of." If a man died without a will, his widow would be entitled to 1/3 of the estate. The "heirs at law" would follow a pattern. First, the children of the deceased (if one of the children died earlier, his/her share would transfer to their children). If there were no children of grandchildren, the "heirs at law" would be the deceased's siblings (or children of those siblings if the sibling was already dead). If there were no siblings, "heirs at law" would be the deceased's parents. If the parents were gone, the estate reverted to the state. However, because the descent would "stop" when it hit one of the levels (heirs would not be both children and siblings of the deceased, for example), if you can prove the relationship of one of the heirs to the deceased, you've figured out the likely relationships for the rest of the heirs. For example, if you can prove that one of the heirs is the child of the deceased, then the rest of the heirs have to be either children or grandchildren of the deceased. Clear as mud? :-) Amy Crow Fairfield County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society http://www.fairfieldgenealogy.org