Estate planning attorneys are often asked by their clients to prepare Wills that pass along their money with strings attached. I call this “dead hand control”.
A common example is making an inheritance contingent upon the beneficiary being married to a person of a particular religion. Another one is requiring that the beneficiary be drug-free for a period of time.
Is this legal? In general, courts tend to allow people to pass along their money with strings attached, provided that those strings do not foster behavior that is illegal or against public policy. In an Illinois case a few years ago, a man-made his grandchildren’s inheritance contingent on their marrying Jewish spouses. The Will was upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court.
Clients who want this are doing what they think is best for the beneficiary. But clients also need to understand that putting conditions on their bequests can cause their family pain.
Consider this Florida case: Grandma died leaving a sizable estate to her 3 granddaughters. The money was divided equally, but they would only get their inheritance if they were married to a person of Grandma’s religion. Two of the sisters were, but one was not -she was happily married to someone of a different religion and had 2 children. She would not inherit. All three of the sisters were shocked and angry. The Executor of the estate explained that its hands were tied and their only recourse was an uphill battle in the courts.
Conditional bequests, related to religion or anything else, should always be thoroughly discussed with your estate planning lawyer.
Call the Law Offices of Debra G. Simms at 386.256.4882 to learn more.
This blog post is not case-specific and is provided only for educational purposes and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. Blog topics may or may not be updated and entries may be out-of-date at the time you view them.
