Issue (genealogy)


In genealogy and wills, a person's issue means all their lineal descendants.

Lineal descendants

Issue typically means a person's lineal descendants—all genetic descendants of a person, regardless of degree. Issue is a narrower category than heirs, which includes spouses, and collaterals. This meaning of issue arises most often in wills and trusts. A person who has no living lineal descendants is said to have died without issue.
A child or children are first-generation descendants and are a subset of issue.