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 New York, children do not have an automatic right to inherit from their parents, except under certain circumstances. New York's Estate, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) provides protections for children who are unintentionally omitted from a will, known as pretermitted children. According to EPTL Section 5-3.2, if a child is born after the execution of a parent's will and the will does not provide for any children of the testator, the after-born or after-adopted child is entitled to a share of the estate as if the parent died without a will (intestate), unless it appears from the will that the omission was intentional or the child is provided for by some settlement. This share is typically equal to what the child would have received if the parent had died intestate, ensuring that the child is not accidentally disinherited. However, if the will made provisions for other children born before the will was executed, the after-born child's share may be limited. It's important to note that these protections do not apply if the parent made other arrangements for the child outside of the will or if the omission was clearly intentional.