The Order of Inheritance

m. Bava Batra 8:1–2

1. There are those who inherit and bequeath, there are those who inherit but do not bequeath, there are those who bequeath but do not inherit, and there are those who neither bequeath nor inherit. These inherit and bequeath: a father as to his sons, and sons as to their father,¹ and brothers from the same father²—these inherit and bequeath. A man as to his mother, and a man as to his wife, and the sons of sisters inherit but do not bequeath. A woman as to her sons, and a wife as to her husband, and brothers of the mother bequeath but do not inherit. And brothers from the [same] mother [but not father] neither inherit nor bequeath.

2. This is the order of inheritance: If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall transfer his property to his daughter (Numbers 27:8)—the son precedes the daughter, and all the son’s offspring precede the daughter. The daughter precedes the brothers, and the daughters’ offspring precede the brothers’. Brothers precede the father’s brothers and the brothers’ offspring precede the father’s brothers. This is the general rule: whosoever has precedence in inheritance, his offspring also have precedence. The father has precedence over all his offspring.

m. Pe’ah 3:7

One who is about to die who assigns his property in writing [to another]: If he retains any land [for himself], however small, he renders his gift valid. But if he retains no land whatsoever, his gift is not valid. One who assigns his property to his children in writing, and he assigns any plot of land to his wife in writing, however small, she has lost her ketubah. R. Yosi says: If she accepted [such an assignment], even though he did not assign it to her in writing, she has lost her ketubah.