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 Iowa, as in many states, children do not have an automatic right to inherit from their parents. However, Iowa law does include provisions to protect certain rights of children with respect to inheritance. Specifically, Iowa has laws to protect pretermitted or omitted children. A pretermitted child is one who is not mentioned in a will because they were born or adopted after the will was executed, and it appears that the parent did not intend to disinherit them. Under Iowa law, if a child is born or adopted after a will is made and the will does not provide for that child, the child may still be entitled to a share of the estate. This share is typically the same as what the child would have received if the parent had died without a will (intestate), unless it can be shown that the omission was intentional or the child was provided for outside of the will. These provisions are designed to ensure that children are not accidentally disinherited. It's important to note that these protections may not apply if the parent's intention to disinherit the child is clear or if there are other circumstances indicating that the omission was deliberate.