Law of Wills, 2016A

Chapter Eight: Disinheritance
8.1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to explore ways in which a person, including a child, can be
disinherited. Should persons be allowed to disinherit their children? Should the government be
forced to provide financial support for the dependent minor or disabled child of a millionaire? The
legislators in the majority of states in America have answered these questions in the affirmative by
permitting a testator to completely disinherit his or her child. Louisiana is the only states that
protects a minor or disabled child from being disinherited.
8.2 Exceptions
8.2.1 Forced Heirs
The state of Louisiana makes special exceptions for children under the age of twenty-three
and permanently disabled children. Those classes of children are designated as forced heirs because
the decedent is forced to name them as heirs in his or her will and the probate court is forced to
consider them as heirs under the intestacy system.
LSA. C.C. Art. 1493. Forced heirs
Forced heirs are descendants of the first degree who, at the time of the death of the
decedent, are twenty-three years of age or younger or descendants of the first degree of any
age who, because of mental incapacity or physical infirmity, are permanently incapable of
taking care of their persons or administering their estates at the time of the death of the
decedent.
8.3 Negative Disinheritance
Parents have the right to disinherit their children. Parents may accomplish this by expressly
stating in writing that they intend to disinherit their children and leave their property to charity or
other persons. 81 Probate courts will usually comply with the parents’ request that their children not
receive any part of their estate. Under the common law negative disinheritance rule, in order to
disinherit a child the parent has to do more than just state that the child is intentionally disinherited.
In some cases, a disinherited child may inherit from the estate if all or a part of the estate is
distributed under the intestacy system. For example, all of the estate would be disposed of in
accordance with the intestate succession laws if the will was invalidated for any reason, including
undue influence, insane delusion and/or duress. In addition, a partial intestacy may result if the
testator failed to devise any part of his or her estate by will. In any of those cases, being disinherited
would not prevent a child from taking an intestate share. See the following example and case.
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Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and other billionaires, have indicated their plans to leave most of their money to charity.
They plan to leave their children nominal amounts or, in some cases, nothing in their wills.
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