Can I disinherit my spouse in my Will?
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Can I disinherit my spouse in my Will?
My spouse left me and moved out quite a while ago, and she does not want to be beneficiary of my estate. I want my son, who currently lives with me, to be beneficiary of my entire estate property. Can this be done in a Will legally? Even though she does not want any of my estate.
Asked on May 9, 2012 under Estate Planning, California
Answers:
Madan Ahluwalia / Ahluwalia Law P. C.
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
California is a community property state, and the general rule is that property acquired during a marriage is owned equally between spouses regardless of who acquired it. For example, say that during your marriage you earned $10,000 in wages. Under community property principles, your wife owns $5,000 of that $10,000. Because of her community property interest, you cannot properly devise all of the $10,000 to your son; you will only be able to devise $5,000.
However, since your wife has stated that she does not want any of your estate, one available option (besides divorcing her) is to have her sign a waiver of her community property rights against your will. You should seek counsel to assist you in drafting a waiver to ensure that the waiver is enforceable.
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