What happens when a person murders another person, does the murderer still get an inheritance? Do the murderer’s children still get an inheritance?If I murder my husband, can my children from another marriage still inherit under his will? A July 29,2015 opinion from the Fourth DCA discusses this issue.
Murder and Inheritance
- What does murder have to do with Florida probate litigation?
- Under Florida trust and estates matter, how can murder affect inheritance?
- A probate lawyer West Palm Beach can tell you that Florida statutes section 732.802,also known as the Slayer Statute, bars a convicted murderer from benefitting under a will of the decedent that he or she murdered.
- This makes sense.
- Why should a person who kills another person be able to inherit from the victim’s estate?
- Wouldn’t that, perhaps, tempt greedy beneficiaries to commit murder?
- Ok, so the murderer cannot inherit… but what about the murderer’s children?
Fiel & Fiel v. Hoffman
- This Fourth DCA case involved a woman who murdered her husband.
- The murderer had a child from another marriage and grandchildren from that child.
- The decedent here left everything to his mother(who was deceased), then his wife, then her child and grandchildren.
- Here, since the wife was the murderer, under the Slayer Statute, she could not inherit.
- However, her child and grandchildren were not barred by the statute from inheriting and were the “sole beneficiaries of the estate.”
- This case did, however, involve an undue influence claim, as well.
- Read the entire case by clicking here to find out how that claim affected the outcome.User’s Guide for Florida Probate Litigation & Administration of Estates, Wils & ProbatesWant to know more about Florida probate litigation? Consider these free resources:
- Read the Florida Courts webpage on the probate process:http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/family-courts/family-law-self-help-information/probate.stml
- Read the Florida Probate Code: http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBLegalRes.nsf/
- Read the Florida Probate Rules: https://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBLegalRes.nsf/
- Here are the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar if you are interested in hiring a Florida probate litigation lawyer and want to know more about our ethical rules and our rules of conduct: http://www.floridabar.org/divexe/rrtfb.nsf/WContents?OpenView
- Here are the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure:http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBLegalRes.nsf/
- Watch free Florida Trust, Probate & Guardianship videos, which include important topics of Florida estate, guardianship, attorneys fees, & trust law.
- There is no cost, no sign up, no one will ask you for your email address to see these dozens of free Florida probate videos: http://www.pankauskilawfirm.com/videos