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 Massachusetts, the law recognizes the rights of pretermitted children, also known as omitted children, under certain circumstances. According to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 190B, Section 2-302, if a child is born or adopted after the execution of a parent's will and the will does not provide for that child, nor demonstrate an intention to exclude the child, then the child may have a right to a share of the estate. This share is typically equivalent to what the child would have received had the parent died intestate (without a will). However, if it can be shown that the omission was intentional or the child was provided for outside of the will (e.g., through a trust), the child may not be entitled to an inheritance. It's important to note that these protections do not apply if the will was made with the intention of not including the child, or if the parent had one or more children and left substantially all of their estate to the other parent of the omitted child.