heir at law

noun, plural heirs at law.

a person who inherits, or has a right of inheritance in, the real property of one who has died without leaving a valid will.

Nearby words

heinrich, heinz, heinz-ehrlich body, heir, heir apparent, heir at law, heir presumptive, heir-at-law, heirdom, heiress, heirloom

Origin of heir at law

First recorded in 1720–30

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for heir-at-law

He succeeded to Newstead and the Lancashire estates, not as heir-at-law, but by deed of gift.
The Works of Lord Byron, Volume 6|Lord Byron
Never had the tyranny of the omnipotent State been more completely realized than by the Jacobins, and their heir-at-law, Napoleon.
The Religious Persecution in France 1900-1906|Jane Milliken Napier Brodhead
It would be fatal to the interests of Floyd if the will should be ignored and half the estate allowed him as heir-at-law.
The Incendiary|W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
I have got a crazy uncle, a brother of uncle Richard, who is heir-at-law if a will is not forthcoming.
For Fortune and Glory|Lewis Hough

Gabriel Tittlebat Titmouse—to whom our friend Titmouse was shown to be heir-at-law.
Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 3.|Samuel Warren

British Dictionary definitions for heir-at-law

heir-at-law

noun plural heirs-at-law

property law the person entitled to succeed to the real property of a person who dies intestate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012