It is necessary to include heirs in an estate plan to direct the after-death distribution of assets. But, what if an heir is only a possibility, rather than a living person? What estate laws apply to a yet-to-be-conceived child or grandchild?

The expanding technologies that help couples reproduce have made it possible for more than 500,000 embryos to be tucked away in cryopreservation storage lockers. Frozen embryos are often used as genetic insurance, a way to ensure future reproduction for any reason, including a parent's death.

Estate assets most often pass from parent to child to grandchild, but laws cover estate beneficiaries who are alive. Few laws deal with the status of children produced by what has been called "postmortem conception."

Estate-planning parents with cryogenically-preserved embryos frequently address the future heir issue in a will. Legal entanglements begin when assets begin to cross generations. Is a child conceived and born after a parent has died considered a grandchild by law? Is there a time limit on conception of an estate-eligible heir following a parent's death?

Only two states follow statutes that grant postmortem children rights to inherit parental assets. According to a legal specialist at Pepperdine University, the rule gives inheritance privileges to children born within 45 months of a married parent's death.

In other states, laws are applied on a case-by-case basis or have no precedent. A handful of states contend that children born through postmortem conception are not eligible for inheritance rights.

Until federal and state laws catch up with advancing reproductive technologies, couples and grandparents of possible inheritors can outline desires in estate documents. Attorneys advise detailed estate plan wording to ensure the inclusion of a potential heir in asset distribution.

The Supreme Court will grapple this term with the government-benefit status of children conceived after the death of a parent. The high court is expected to decide if children born of post-mortem conceptions are legally eligible dependents and worthy of survivors' benefits.

Source: money.usnews.com, "Posthumous births: An Emerging Estate Challenge," Jan. 25, 2012