There are several situations than can prevent a child (or a person managing property for a child) from being able to receive an inheritance. These bars to succession include situations involving homicide, properly made disclaimers, and when the child is disinherited by the parent.

Homicide and Inheritances

A child (or any other person) who is convicted for wrongfully killing a donor is generally precluded from inheriting property from the donor. In most states, legal title to property that would have passed to the slayer is held in constructive trust for the heirs or next of kin of the decedent.

Disclaimers and Inheritances

A disclaimer is a refusal or disavowal of property one has the right to receive. In other words, a disclaimer is a means for turning away an inheritance. Disclaimers are usually evidenced by a written document signed by the would-be inheritor.

At common law, when a person dies without a will (or intestate), title to his property passes to his heirs by operation of law. The intestate successor could not prevent title from passing to him by executing a disclaimer. Thus, if the heir refused to accept the inheritance, the heirs renunciation of title was treated as if title has passed o the heir and then from the heir to the next intestate successor. But if a person died with a will (or testate), the devisee could refuse to accept the devise. This prevents title to the property from passing to the devisee.

The law in many states now recognizes the validity of disclaimers. The law in these states treats a disclaimer as if the inheritor predeceased the deceased. A person succeeds to the property of a decedent (regardless of whether there is or is not a valid will) only if the person survives the decedent for an instant of time. The Uniform Simultaneous Death Act, which has been adopted in many states, provides that where “there is no sufficient evidence” of the order of deaths, the beneficiary is deemed to have predeceased the benefactor. Thus, if a person disclaims an interest in an inheritance, he will be deemed to have predeceased the deceased and he will not take title to the property he would have inherited.

Would-be inheritors often disclaim inheritances to avoid paying taxes (when the property will pass to another family member at a lower tax cost), and to avoid subjecting the property to the inheritor’s creditors. State law imposes some restrictions on the validity of disclaimers in these situations, especially if the property was disclaimed to qualify the inheritor for Medicare or other government benefits.

Negative Disinheritance

At common law, one could not disinherit a relative without assigning all of their property to others in a will. The wording that “John shall receive none of my property” was not valid. Today, modern law, based on the Uniform Probate Code, generally authorizes statements in wills disinheriting relatives. These wills are often referred to as “negative wills.”

In addition to these bars to succession to property, there are other instances when a would-be inheritor will not take property pursuant to a will. This often comes up in the context of will contests. Let’s explore will contests by focusing on will contests related to the decedent’s mental capacity to make a will.