Disinheriting an heir happens for many different reasons. No matter why you decide to disinherit someone, you need to know what steps to take to do it properly since this quite often leads to estate disputes after you die.
It’s complicated
Anything is possible with careful estate planning, including disinheritance. Just remember that this can be more complicated than it seems, so it’s critical to understand all your legal options and have an experienced estate planning attorney write your estate plan documents.
Spouses have special rights
In order to disinherit a spouse, you need to have a pre-marital agreement (prenuptual agreement) or a postnuptual agreement.
Be intentional
One way to disinherit someone is to omit them from your will altogether. This sounds simple but removing a few lines when you’re updating your estate plan documents may not be sufficient. The heir that you omit might claim that it was an accident or that it was fraudulent due to undue influence of another person who stands to benefit from your disinheritance.
To reduce the likelihood of a challenge, make it noticeably clear that you are intentionally and willfully omitting this individual. One way to do this is to use a disinheritance clause that spells out your wishes and names the person as someone who was intentionally cut out of the will.
Do not delay
If you discover that you have been disinherited and believe there may have been undue influence involved, you need to speak with an experience fiduciary litigator as soon as possible to explore the options available to you. Wool Landon attorneys are highly skilled in this area and can help you with your claim.