Inheritance By Murder?

Thomas Gilbert Jr. has been accused of murdering his father, a wealthy New York hedge fund founder.  While Gilbert has been arrested and faces a murder charge as well as two weapons-related charges, Gilbert may be eligible to inherit some of the fortune of the man he is accused of fatally shooting.

Thomas Gilbert Sr., the founder of Wainscott Capital Partners Fund, was found in his Manhattan apartment last month having suffered a gunshot wound to the head.  His will was filed on Wednesday, and it divided the inheritance among his wife, his daughter and his son. 

Naomi Cahn, a professor at George Washington University Law School, says the issue of Gilbert Jr.’s inheritance is complex.  If the death is unintentional or accidental a person may be able to inherit, although the basic rule states if you are convicted of killing a person, you cannot benefit from his or her estate.  “The general law is that when you’ve killed someone, you don’t get to inherit.  But then it’s a question of proving that you did actually kill the person,” explained Cahn.  “It’s too early to know.  He may benefit.  Depending on how the killing actually happened, he may inherit.”    

See Sarah Larimer, Thomas Gilbert Jr. is Accused of Killing His Own Father. Can he Collect Inheritance? The Washington Post, Jan. 15, 2015. 

Special thanks to Naomi Cahn (Harold H. Greene Professor of Law, George Washington University School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.