Is It Legal For A Parent To Leave Nothing To A Child? Richard A. Whitney
Q.
Hi. I wanted to know more about wills. My dad died almost a year ago and he left a will but I have never seen it. He owned a company and property but my mom said that she was put as 100% owner. She said she was one of the beneficiaries but she also signed the will as a witness. I wanted to know if it is legal for me not to get anything from my dad? Thank you for your time.
-- Daniela
A.
Your question really has two parts. The first part is the legality of your father not leaving you anything in his will. In New York, it is legal for a parent to leave nothing to his children. The other part of your question is the consequences of your mother having been a witness to the will. Normally, a witness to a will who is also a beneficiary of the will must forfeit his/her legacy if that person's testimony or affidavit is needed to probate the will. If there are two other witnesses who are not left anything in the will, then the legacy to the witness/beneficiary is valid. If the heir is disqualified from receiving his/her legacy under the will, the heir is still entitled to receive a portion of the estate figured as though there was no will, not to exceed the amount that was left to him or her in the will.
The impact of those rules on your situation is as follows: If the will can be probated without your mother's testimony or affidavit in support of the will, you would get nothing. If, however, your mother's testimony in support of the will is needed, then the estate would be distributed as though there was no will and you would get the share of the estate figured according to New York's law of intestacy.
