Inheritance

Inheritance determines who among the members of a House becomes its head when the previous head dies.

Codex
"The gang leaders that initially seized power after the Collapse and were successful enough to hold on to it through their lifetime chose family members as their successors. Over time, bloodline inheritance has become a strong social and political norm, and forms the basis for legitimate authority to rule a colony or lead a faction.

When an individual dies, their firstborn (son or daughter) inherits their possessions and their authority. They also inherit their grievances and accountability for their crimes. If a child inherits a position of power that they are still too young to hold, an acting head is temporarily appointed until they become of age.

It is partly this foundation on bloodline inheritance that gives political marriages their power.

If the first child of the deceased is dead, their first child will be next in the line of succession (and so on). If a dead first child had no children in turn, their siblings (or their first children) are next in the line of succession. If the deceased has no living progeny, their oldest sibling is next in the line of succession. If the deceased has no living siblings, then they are said to have no natural heir.

If a deceased ruler has no natural heir, it falls upon the leader of their faction to appoint a new one. If a deceased leader has no natural heir, the most senior ruler takes over the leadership of the faction."