What Does It Mean to Disinherit Someone?

Disinheriting someone usually means intentionally excluding that person from a planned inheritance. That intention needs to be distinguished from an accidental omission, an outdated document, or a gift controlled by something other than the will.

A sentence saying “they get nothing” may feel decisive to the person writing it. The legal result requires more than knowing that the feeling was strong.

The relationship changes the question

Iowa Code section 633.264 recognizes testamentary disposition subject to the surviving spouse’s elective-share rights and estate obligations. A spouse’s position therefore cannot be treated as identical to a friend’s or distant relative’s.

Children born or adopted after execution of a will raise another issue. Section 633.267 provides protection for an omitted after-born or after-adopted child under its conditions unless the will shows an intentional omission. The timing and document language matter; this is not a rule that every child must receive an equal amount.

Before drafting an exclusion, explain the actual family relationships to the attorney. That includes children from earlier relationships and changes since the existing document was signed.

Look beyond the exclusion paragraph

Imagine someone removes a relative from the will but leaves that person named on a workplace benefit form. The documents may now express different instructions. The lawyer reviewing the plan needs to know about both rather than assuming that a broad declaration in one document settles every asset.

Likewise, a person may intend to exclude someone from one gift but still name them as executor or agent. Whether that is sensible is a separate decision. Review the appointments instead of focusing solely on distribution language.

An angry letter can generate a dispute about intention without accomplishing the intended legal change. If circumstances have changed, bring the existing documents and a clear explanation of the desired result to counsel.

Keep the discussion factual. Who should receive what, who should not, and what alternatives should apply if circumstances change again? A carefully considered plan gives the drafting attorney a workable instruction. It also reduces the chance that the executor will have to reconstruct an estate plan from messages written during a family disagreement.

Tyler ThompsonAuthor