Refusal to exercise forced share right deemed a transfer

A husband’s will left his residuary estate consisting of the proceeds of the sale of the family home which had been titled in his name alone to a discretionary trust for his wife who was residing in a nursing home.

The wife’s agent declined to exercise the wife’s forced share rights to one-third of her husband’s estate and the state terminated her Medicaid eligibility.

The wife appealed and the court upheld the finding that the refusal to exercise the elective share was a transfer of the property that the wife would have received.  I.G. v. Dep’t. of Human Services, 900 A.2d 840 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2006).

Special thanks to Prof. William P. LaPiana for bringing this case to my attention.