Jonathan D. Karp
Unfortunately, some people come into our office with strained relationships with their children and want to know if they can disinherit them. The answer is yes. What you should do is, under your legal documents – your Last Will or Living Trust – acknowledge that child, and then exclude them. However, if you’re disinheriting a child due to reasons like drug addiction and you’re worried about how they may spend the money, what you could do instead is leave the money held in trust for them, managed by somebody who you know and trust, that could then manage and distribute the money for their needs and for their benefit. We can assist you in drafting documents to accomplish that.