Who Can You Disinherit In A Will?

To “disinherit” someone means to cut a person out of your estate plan so that they don’t get any of your assets.

You can “disinherit” whoever you want – you can have a clause that says you “disinherit Joe Biden.”

But that wouldn’t be too useful.

Disinheriting a person is only necessary when the person is someone who would be naturally entitled to your assets.

I’ve talked about who is entitled to your things when you die without a will or trust.

Only people like your kids, spouse, parents, would need to be specifically disinherited in your will for them to get nothing.

If you don’t specifically say “I disinherit X” then they may be entitled to a portion of your assets.

So if you don’t want your kids to get anything, you must say so in your will.

The only person you can’t entirely disinherit is your spouse. Even if you state in your will that you’re disinheriting your spouse, they’re still entitled to the “Spousal Elective Share.”

That means they can still legally collect a share of your assets (even if you specifically disinherited them).

The law is built this way to discourage the disinheritance of spouses.

However, you can put all your assets in a trust and not name your spouse as beneficiary.

This will effectively disinherit a spouse.

If you don’t want certain family members in your life to have any claim to your assets, it’s important to talk to a lawyer and explore your options.

By the way, for convenience, I just happen to be a lawyer (*licensed in CT and MA*)

So if you want, give me a call (860) 913 0210

Or send me an email: [email protected]