Is Texas “bad parent” disinheritance statute unconstitutional?

Elizabeth Henderson (Article Editor, Texas Tech Law Review) has recently published her paper entitled Two Constitutional Wrongs Don’t Make Forfeiture Right: Does § 41(e) of the Texas Probate Code Violate the Texas Constitution?, Addendum, Texas Tech Law Review.

Here is an abstract of her article:

A recent addition to the Texas Probate Code, Section 41(e) allows a court to impose forfeiture and deny a parent the right to inherit from his or her child if the parent committed any one of the acts listed under Section 41(e) against the child or, in some instances, any child.  The forfeiture triggered by Section 41(e) violates the Texas Constitution, which contains an express prohibition of forfeiture.  In addition, the statute permits courts to disqualify parents from inheriting but does not permit a court to disqualify another relative, such as a grandparent or sibling, who committed the same act from inheriting from the deceased child.

Section 41(e) of the Texas Probate Code violates the Texas Constitution by imposing forfeiture and by denying the parents their constitutional right to equal protection under the law.  This Comment demonstrates the need for the Texas Legislature to amend the Texas Constitution to allow forfeitures in certain, specific instances and to revise Section 41 of the Probate Code to apply forfeiture to any beneficiary who commits one of the enumerated disqualifying acts.