Ben was the illegitimate, unacknowledged child of Fred. Fred died intestate, leaving neither spouse nor any children other than Ben. The state's law of intestate succession provides that an unacknowledged illegitimate child may not inherit his father's property. The spouse, all other blood relations, and the state are preferred as heirs over the unacknowledged illegitimate child. Ben filed suit in an appropriate court alleging that the state statute barring an illegitimate child from sharing in a parent's estate is invalid, and that he should be declared lawful heir to his father's estate"The state's strongest defense of the statute would be that
the authority of a state over the disposition of decedents' property located in the state is not affected by the Constitution of the United States a statute prescribing the means of disposing of the property of intestate decedents does not constitute invidious discrimination. inheritance under intestate succession laws is a privilege, not a right, and therefore is not protected as property under the due process clause.  its interest in promoting family life and in encouraging the formal acknowledgment of paternity gives the law a rational basis.