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"In challenging the validity of the state statute, Ben's strongest argument would be that
there is no rational basis for preferring as heirs collateral relatives and even the state over unacknowledged children, and therefore the law violates the equal protection clause.  he has been deprived of property without due process because his fundamental right to inherit has been compromised without a compelling state need. it violates the privileges and immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. it is a denial of procedural due process because it does not give the unacknowledged illegitimate child an opportunity to prove paternity