What does Disinheritance mean?
There are certain situations that can occur in life that might make one consider "disinheriting" someone from their estate plans. In those cases, it is relatively simple to make it clear that you wish to disinherit a particular person from your estate.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Disinheritance as:
"To prevent deliberately from inheriting something." ¹
When you disinherit someone, you are saying that you do not wish this person to receive anything from your estate after you're gone.
It is not possible in any state to disinherit one's spouse if you were married at the time time of your death. There are some situations where one can disinherit an ex-spouse. Contact a qualified legal expert from information in this particular situation.
All states except Louisiana allow the disinheritance of children.
Some instances where this may be useful include (but are not limited to):
- Estrangement from the family
- Lack of a relationship
- Significant prior gifts
- Concerns about an heir's financial responsibility
- History of substance abuse
- Neglecting a testator's needs
- Divorce
- Desire to protect assets from heir's creditors
This list is not exhaustive. If you have a particular situation in which you are considering disinheriting someone, contact a qualified legal expert for more information.
Source:
¹ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disinherit
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