Choosing to Disinherit One of Your Children
It's a tragedy when a relationship between a parent and their child breaks down to the point that the two become estranged. But when the relationship has devolved to hostility or plain indifference with no contact between the parties, it can be concluded that the two are in fact estranged. When preparing your will, you might feel it's appropriate to disinherit your estranged child. But is this actually possible?
Excluding a Child
Will disputes are a fairly common course of action when someone feels that they did not inherit their fair share of an estate. The estate might have been divided fairly evenly between other beneficiaries (your other children, assorted family members, friends and charities) with one specific party being deliberately excluded. The excluded child might opt to dispute your will, and their chances for success depend on how the will was constructed, along with the reason for the exclusion.
Drafting Your Will
Your will should have a provision explicitly stating your reasons for excluding a certain person who might have otherwise been entitled to a share of your estate. A DIY will kit is generally unsuitable for this purpose, and you should have a solicitor draw up your will, essentially strengthening the document and its intent against any potential future disputes.
Your reasons for excluding the person must be legitimate (such as a specific occurrence or series of occurrences that led to the breakdown of the relationship) and well-articulated, using appropriate language and terminology. Failure to give clear reasons for the exclusion could result in a court approving the dispute in the future if the reasoning is not well-articulated and could conceivably be interpreted as petty.
Safeguarding Your Assets
Another means of disinheriting a specific person is to safeguard the transfer of key assets while you're alive. This involves selecting the people whom you wish to be beneficiaries and legitimising this by making them co-owners of said assets, meaning that they will become sole owners after you have passed away. For example, if you have two children and intend to disinherit one of them, you could make the other child co-owner of your home by formally adding them to the property deed. This means that the asset will pass to them in its entirety when you pass away.
The process of disinheriting a certain family member is not pleasant, but if you feel that this is the most appropriate course of action given the circumstances, then it's important to do so properly.
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