Some synonyms for pretermit are: abandon, avoid, bypass, disregard, ignore, leave out, leave undone, omit, and overlook.
In the law, a pretermitted heir is someone who was 'left out' (unintentionally/accidentally omitted) when a Will was executed.
A pretermitted child can be a child born (or adopted) after the Will was executed. It can also refer to a child who was unknown to the testator (the maker of the Will) at the time that the Will was created.
Likewise, a spouse can be pretermitted. For example if the person marries the testator (the creator of the Will) after the Will was created.
Why is pretermitted heirs important? The law can provide for pretermitted heirs to receive a portion of the estate of the testator. State laws vary and it is beyond the scope of this article to review individual situations.
Pretermitted means essentially that an heir was omitted unintentionally. It is not the same as disinheriting a person.
Pretermitted means that the omission was inadvertent, accidental or unintentional.
Disinherited means that excluding a person from your Will was Intentional. The omission from the Will was specific and intentional.
It would be a mistake to assume that if a child or spouse is not named in the Will, that the child (or spouse) then has no rights to the assets of an estate. The pretermitted person/heir could receive what is known as a statutory share or an intestate share.
Note about disinheritance: If you have a child and your specific intent is to leave nothing in the Will to that child - in most cases, if you so wish to disinherit the child - a parent should specifically state in the Will some effective language - "I leave nothing to my son____________(Name)... (consult an attorney about the appropriate phrasing)
You may disinherit with or without stating the reason for the action. However, not specifying the name of the child could/might create a situation/argument that you merely "forgot" to name them and that the child could inherit as a pretermitted child.
It is also suggested that the testator (the maker of the Will) renew the disinheritance provision periodically if desiring to continue the disinheritance. If not, it might be argued that... ten years ago my parent felt like that, but things changed and they just 'forgot' to revise the Will or that there was undue influence after the Will was created.
Clearly, Pretermitted heirs and 'after- born heir statutes' and disinheritance can create complex legal issues.
Reviewing your estate planning documents periodically, and particularly following important changes in your life, can prevent needless problems.
Important life changes include: births, deaths, marriage, divorce, disability, dissolution of a business and inheritance to name a few.
If you have questions about pretermitted heirs, consult a qualified estate planning attorney.
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