You may have never pictured your marriage getting to a point where you start to consider seriously disinheriting your spouse from your estate. But most unfortunately, many testators of Last Wills and Testaments throughout the state of Florida find themselves in similar predicaments. If this applies to you, please read on to discover how to disinherit your spouse from your estate and how a seasoned Broward County estate lawyer at The Probate Lawyers can step in if need be.
Under what circumstances should I disinherit my spouse from my estate?
At face value, the concept of disinheriting your spouse from your estate may seem cold. However, you may have valid reasons to justify this action. For example, you and your spouse may be legally separated. With this, you may be unsure as to whether you will get a finalized divorce before the time of your unfortunate passing. Or, better yet, you and your spouse may not intend to get officially divorced anytime soon.
Or, some reasonings may not even be rooted in ill will. In fact, your spouse may agree to them. An example is if you and your spouse agree that your shared children should inherit the bulk of your estate. This may be especially relevant if your spouse has a significant share of separate property within their estate and believes your children would benefit more from this inheritance.
How can I effectively disinherit my spouse from my estate?
Importantly, you must understand that you cannot technically disinherit your spouse from your estate, per Florida law. This is unless you have a contractual agreement that overrides this rule. That is, if you and your spouse executed a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
In the absence of a contractual agreement, you may attempt to minimize your spouse’s inheritance share as much as possible. However, you must anticipate your spouse’s response to this. That is, they may invoke their right to take an elective share of your estate. Essentially, an elective share is a portion of your estate that your surviving spouse is entitled to regardless of the terms and conditions of your Last Will and Testament. This portion is usually set at 30 percent. Florida law enforces this so that surviving spouses may not become poverty-stricken at the time of their spouses’ unfortunate deaths.
Further, Florida deems your elective estate as your probate estate plus relevant, additional assets. Examples of these additional assets include your revocable trust assets; your retirement plan death benefits; your joint bank accounts; etc. With all these factors in mind, if you are looking for more clarity on the matter, please allow a competent Broward County estate lawyer to offer it to you. Schedule an appointment with The Probate Lawyers today.
