Marital Fault as a Basis for Terminating Inheritance Rights

Allison Bridges (Attorney at Law, Ashland, VA) recently published her article entitled Marital Fault as a Basis for Terminating Inheritance Rights: Protecting the Institution of Marriage and Those Who Abide by Their Vows—‘Til Death do Them Part, 45 Real Prop., Tr. & Est. L. J. 559 (2010). The editors’ synopsis is below:

Probate law entitles surviving spouses to an elective share of their decedent spouses’ estates, but if a surviving spouse engages in marital misconduct, the majority of states statutorily limit this right. Using Virginia as an example, this Article compares marital misconduct in probate law and domestic relations law, and concludes that the two areas of the law are often inconsistent. The Author discusses the problems that result from probate law’s narrow definition of marital misconduct and suggests that states expand this definition to mirror domestic relations law.