Can an deceased adult child be disinherited?
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Can an deceased adult child be disinherited?
I was with Mike for 12 years and married only 3 short months when he died 5 years ago unexpectedly at 43. He was the youngest of his siblings. Mike was in his mother’s Will. His father passed, I believe, 14 years ago. Mike was to receive his inheritance from his father’s but I don’t believe that he ever did. Well, 3 to 4 months after Mike passed, I learned he was written out of the Will by his mother and his portioned redistributed among his 1 sister and 2 brothers. We did not have children but were planning to. Would I be able to contest her Will as his wife? I was a perfect daughter-in-law and his mother liked me but greed just makes people ugly. She also had a life insurance policy out on him but never told us or offered it to us when we wed. She kept reminding me just after he died that she was the beneficiary and kept the money; I had no idea of its value – I made her pay his taxes that were due out of it as his
Asked on July 10, 2016 under Estate Planning, Connecticut
Answers:
B.H.F., Member, Texas State Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
A deceased adult child can be disinherited if it represents the final wishes of the parent. Any person can change their will to fit their final wishes any time before they pass away. It is possible that his mom wrote him out of her will after his death. Whether he had been deceased or not, she would have had the right to do so.
However, his mom could not have changed his father's will. This means that if Mike inherited something via his father's will, she could not later undo the gift. Mike's gift became ripe upon his father's passing assuming that he inherited something via his father's will. If Mike did inherit an asset, then you may be entitled to a portion of that gift as part of your husband's estate. To determine how to probate his estate and whether or not it would be cost effective to do so, reach out to a probate attorney.
With regard to the life insurance policy... if his mom was the only beneficiary, then she would be the only one to receive those proceeds regardless of what the will provided for.
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