An adult child may be cut out of a Last Will and Testament, provided the parent is mentally competent. The removal may be made for any reason or for no cause at all. It is recommended that any heirs intentionally omitted be mentioned specifically in the will. The child must be disinherited or they may have a claim, called a will contest, to having been unintentionally excluded, mistakenly, for no fault of their own.

Predetermined Child Statute
These rights fall under the Predetermined Child Statute, which gives recently born or adopted dependents fifty percent of the decedent’s estate, provided they were born or adopted between the time of the will’s drafting and the time of death. Dating back to Roman law, the child is guaranteed the same amount they would have received had the decedent died intestate, with no will at all.

Homesteading Rights
Minor children are protected by homesteading rights that prevent the decedent from giving away the family home if there is an heir who is a minor child. Exceptions to this would include a child who was intentionally left out of the will; a child who was given an alternate inheritance intended to replace being mentioned in the will; or a child whose surviving parent inherited the entire estate or the great majority of it.

After-born Children
Some states have specific laws regarding the rights of children born after the making of a will. These are called after-born children. Rather than voiding an existing will, after-born children serve to modify it. Obviously, a child born well after the decedent’s demise, for example ten months later, would not be included in the settlement, as the will would be closed nine months after death.

For more information on Cutting a Child out a Will, please visit the office of Adrian Phillips Thomas, Probate Lawyer in Fort Lauderdale.