Statutes protect children born or adopted after execution and in some states spouses married afterward. The omitted person takes an intestate share unless the omission was intentional or otherwise provided for.
Intentional omission must be apparent.
Alternative Names:
Omitted Heir|Pretermitted Child
Why it Matters?
Intentional omission must appear from the instrument in most states, which means a testator wishing to disinherit a child should say so expressly rather than remaining silent, since silence triggers the statute where the child was born after execution. Provision outside the will including life insurance and non-probate transfers may also satisfy the statute, which is worth establishing where the omission was deliberate but unstated.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
How is intentional omission established?
Do non-probate transfers satisfy the statute?
