12 Del. C. § 503
This is the official text of 12 Del. C. § 503, part of Delaware’s Del. C — part of the compiled statutory law of Delaware, published by the state as "Del. C." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ Â 503. Share of heirs other than surviving spouse.
Official statutory text
(a) The part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse under § 502 of this title, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes as follows:
(1) To the issue of the decedent, per stirpes;
(2) If there is no surviving issue, to the decedent’s parent or parents equally;
(3) If there is no surviving issue or parent, to the issue of the decedent’s parents, per stirpes;
(4) If there is no surviving issue, parent or issue of a parent, then to the next of kin of the decedent, and to the issue of a deceased next of kin, per stirpes.
(b) Any property passing under this section to 2 or more persons passes to such persons as tenants in common.
(c) An individual who is related to a decedent through more than 1 line of relationship is entitled to only a single share based on 1 line of relationship. If the shares from the lines of relationship are unequal, the individual is entitled to the largest share. The individual and the individual’s descendants are deemed to have predeceased the decedent with respect to the other line or lines of relationship.
(1) To the issue of the decedent, per stirpes;
(2) If there is no surviving issue, to the decedent’s parent or parents equally;
(3) If there is no surviving issue or parent, to the issue of the decedent’s parents, per stirpes;
(4) If there is no surviving issue, parent or issue of a parent, then to the next of kin of the decedent, and to the issue of a deceased next of kin, per stirpes.
(b) Any property passing under this section to 2 or more persons passes to such persons as tenants in common.
(c) An individual who is related to a decedent through more than 1 line of relationship is entitled to only a single share based on 1 line of relationship. If the shares from the lines of relationship are unequal, the individual is entitled to the largest share. The individual and the individual’s descendants are deemed to have predeceased the decedent with respect to the other line or lines of relationship.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Delaware?
Find a Delaware lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.