Can I Disinherit My Spouse?

Probably not. All states have laws in place to prevent people from intentionally disinheriting their spouse. This was the issue in Sullivan v. Burkin. [*1]

What happened in the Sullivan case?

Earnest Sullivan created a trust and transferred property into the trust.

The trust benefited him only and not his wife, Mary. Income from the trust went to him and he was able to take property from the trust as he pleased.

He also wrote a will. The will gave the trust, and all the property in the trust, to some other people - not his wife Mary! He even wrote in his will that he intended to leave his wife nothing.

What did Mary argue?

She said that the property should be taken out of the trust, and given to her as an heir.

What did the Court say?

The Court was torn. The problem was that the law at the time supported Earnest. What he did was not against the law. For this reason, Mary did not get the property

The Court was so appalled, however, that they changed the law. They said that, in the future, if you create a trust benefiting only yourself, when you die, the property will not stay in the trust, it will go the heirs.

What does this mean?

This shows that courts do not want to disinherit spouses. They see it as against public policy and will do what they can to allow spouses to inherit.

[*1] Sullivan v. Burkin, 460 N.E.2d 571 (1984)