Skip to Content

We are a Veteran Owned Business, providing 20% discounts for Veterans, First Responders, Elementary and High School teachers. Please contact us to set up a phone or Zoom meeting. Taking care of you and your family, It's What We Do!

Theft-Disqualify-A-Beneficiary-From-Inheriting

Does Theft Disqualify A Beneficiary From Inheriting?

Posted on Tue Aug 30, 2016, on Estate Litigation

From our Ask a Question Mailbag: Does Theft Disqualify A Beneficiary From Inheriting? 

Most Recently Updated August 8, 2018.

“As the executor of my mother’s Montgomery County estate, I was able to prove that my brother stole from my mom.  The judge ordered him to return the money. My mother’s Will divides the assets between all the children equally.  Is my brother disqualified from inheriting his share?”

Does Theft Disqualify A Beneficiary From Inheriting?

People who murder a parent are disqualified from inheriting from that parent.  But, believe it or not, no law disqualifies a child from inheriting from a parent because the child stole money from the deceased parent.

Ask the judge to make the thief shoulder the cost of recovering the stolen funds.

Petitions to the judge asking for a child to return stolen property are quite common.  Sometimes the petition asks the judge to return stolen jewelry.  I have had cases where a child (or child’s spouse) has taken jewelry right from the parent’s body at the funeral home.  Other times the petition addresses far more extensive bad acts, such as forging deeds or wrongfully shifting large sums of money from the parent’s account into the child’s account.

For more information, see my website regarding Trust and Estate Litigation.

The courts overseeing these petitions have the power to order the child to return a wrongfully taken asset.  The court doesn’t have the power to change the deceased’s Will to remove the person as an heir.  BUT, judges have the power to order the child who stole assets to pay the recovery costs.  It’s the judge’s discretion.  If the judge believes a child’s wrongful act was the sole cause of an expense, then instead of all the heirs sharing in the cost of recovery the judge may order the child’s share reduced to cover the expense.  This decision is up to the judge, but it doesn’t hurt to ask!

Further Estate Litigation Questions?

Disqualifying a beneficiary from inheriting due to theft is only one of many Estate Litigation issues our firm addresses. Consequently, if you want to learn more, please read my more detailed article, Trust and Estate Litigation All You Need to Know.

In Conclusion: Does Theft Disqualify A Beneficiary From Inheriting

I hope that this article was helpful in explaining Does Theft Disqualify A Beneficiary From Inheriting. Further, I included links to even more detailed information on my website. Therefore, please contact me and let me know how I did. Certainly, your comments and questions are welcome!

Let our Litigation Lawyers help walk you through what can be a confusing process. To begin with, call to speak to one of our experienced Litigation Attorneys.  By all means, our lawyers are ready to answer your questions. In fact, feel free to contact our office for a free consultation. Ultimately our goal is to put our 25 years of estate litigation experience to work for you.

Wills, Trusts, Probate, and Estate Litigation It’s All We Do!

Tags:

Beneficiary, Estate Litigation, Estate Litigation Attorney, Estate Litigation Lawyer, Executor, Glen Ridenour, Will Challenges, Will Contests, Wills

Peter KlenkPeter Klenk

What Our clients are saying

Klenk Law Logo
Stars

Nafeesha. B

When it came down to picking the right attorney to handle my affairs, I knew right away it was this firm. From speaking to their secretary to speaking to Peter I knew I was making the right decision. After only a few mins Peter knew right away what I was looking for and handled all my questions professionally and even gave me great feedback that put my mind at ease. All that without even giving a single penny! So of course I hired him! So far so good...

Klenk Law Logo
Stars

Chris B.

AWESOME LAWYER! Peter Klenk is an exceptional attorney and a very nice person! Today I spoke with Peter about estate planning and was impressed with by his professionalism, cordiality, and attention to detail. I highly recommend Klenk Law for probates, wills, trusts, and other issues germane to estate planning!

Klenk Law Logo
Stars

Gene Link

Knowledgeable lawyers, helpful attitude, fair fees.

Klenk Law Logo
Stars

Rachel Roney

Peter has done a great job with the estate planning for my father. He is very thorough and patient as we, the family need to make decisions.

Klenk Law Logo
Stars

Sheldon P.

Everything about my experience was a 10+! Peter and his staff made what I thought would be a difficult process easy and understandable. Every detail was handled correctly. No other firm could possibly do better than Klenk Law!

Let us put our expertise to work for you.

Free consultation within 24 hours.