Disown A Child? How It Affects Your Estate Planning
There are a number of reasons why you may have disowned one of your own children or may wish to preclude them from your will. They may be addicts, you may have had a falling out years ago, they may not speak to you, or you may feel that you have provided more than enough to them already. However, regardless of your reasons, it is very important that your estate be carefully planned to make it clear that you are purposely cutting this individual out. Here are some frequently asked questions you may be wondering about when it comes to disowning a child and estate planning.
Why Must it Be Made Clear a Child is Cut Out of the Will?
If you leave a child out of your will, but do not state specifically that you have purposely done so, the child is considered to be a pretermitted child. In most jurisdictions, a pretermitted child can make a claim to your estate and will be awarded a share of your estate. This is because it is not very common for a parent to cut their child out of their will or leave them nothing. As such, the courts feel that an error was made and you accidentally left the child out of the will.
How Can it be Made Clear a Child is Cut From the Will?
Due to the fact that the law helps to protect a child who may have been accidentally forgotten from a will, it is very important that you state in your will that you are leaving one of your children out of the will and doing so purposefully. This makes it clear that an error was not made and that it is your intention that the child receive nothing. This can be done with a simple statement, such as "My child, John Doe, is not mentioned in this will as I intentionally leave no provision for him."
Unfortunately, when one of your children finds out they have been cut from your will, they may decide to challenge the will. In some instances, stating why you have disinherited the child can help shut them down in court. In other instances, stating your reasoning can cause further alienation with the said child and your other family members. It is important to speak to an estate planning expert or attorney who can help you determine whether or not you should list the reason in your will, and if so, what specifically you should state.
Are There Alternatives to Cutting a Child From a Will?
Many people cut children from their wills because they are afraid that their grown child will make poor decisions with the money based on their past history. If your child is an addict, you may worry they will spend the money on drugs or alcohol. If your child is not responsible with money, you may worry that they may blow the cash rather than use it to better their current situation. If you are considering cutting a child out of your will because you are worried about enabling their bad habits, you may want to consider setting up a trust, rather than disinheriting the child.
When you set up a trust, you can include special provisions. You may wish to have a certain amount of money disbursed to the child yearly or at certain age intervals. Or you can have a trustee manage the funds and make decisions as to what money is needed for living expenses and disburse the money accordingly. This way, the money is being spent as you would have wished for your child to spend it, rather than it being used to enable behavior that you do not agree with.
Deciding to cut one of your children from your will can be a difficult decision. But, if you have decided to do that, you will need to carefully plan your estate and properly word your will. This ensures your wishes will be granted and the child will not receive money or property that you did not wish for them to have.
If you still have questions, you can read more here on estate planning.