Except in limited circumstances, children generally do not have a right to inherit anything (real property or personal property) from their parents. Laws do vary from state to state and in some states, for example, the head of a household may be prohibited from leaving the family homestead to anyone other than a surviving spouse or minor child if such person is alive.

And most states have laws that protect children (and sometimes grandchildren) against accidental inheritance in certain limited circumstances. These laws usually apply when a child is born after a parent’s will is executed, and because the will leaves property to the child’s siblings, it appears that the parent did not intend to disinherit the new child. In this circumstance the child who was not mentioned in the will may be eligible to inherit a portion of the estate like the child’s siblings. Such an omitted child is also known as a pretermitted child or a pretermitted heir.

In states with pretermitted child laws, the laws are usually located in the state’s statutes—often in the estates code or probate code.

In Alabama, children do not have an inherent right to inherit from their parents, except under certain circumstances. Alabama law does provide protections for children who may have been unintentionally omitted from a will. This is addressed under the concept of a 'pretermitted heir.' According to Alabama Code § 43-8-90, if a child is born or adopted after the execution of a will and the will does not provide for that child, then the child may have a right to a share of the estate as if the decedent died intestate (without a will), unless it appears from the will that the omission was intentional or the child was provided for outside of the will. Additionally, if the decedent had children living when the will was executed, and the will gave property to one or more of those children, the omitted child is entitled to a share equal to that received by the other children under the will. However, if the decedent had no children at the time the will was executed, the omitted child's share is limited to the portion of the estate they would have received if the decedent had died intestate. It's important to note that these provisions do not apply if the will's language indicates that the omission was intentional or if the child was provided for by the decedent during their lifetime in lieu of a testamentary gift.