In a recent column, the author addressed leaving inheritances and how it is not always equitable to divide your assets equally amongst your children. One reader, however, disagreed with the fact that a child was feeling a sense of entitlement when being disinherited. The reader mentioned their opposition through points like, “Inheritance to your children isn’t about money; it’s about love. To leave a child out of the will is the ultimate rejection, a total denial of love for them in a situation that can never be revisited, readdressed or repaired.” The author answers back saying that it is a beneficiariy’s choice to fight or resent their siblings over being disinherited, ultimately showing their true character. Indeed, the inheritance a child receives is not a marker for the physical or emotional support they received throughout life.
See Michelle Singletary, Michelle Singletary: Will Does Not Equal Parental Love, Ventura County Star, October 12, 2016.
Special thanks to Naomi Cahn (Harold H. Greene Professor of Law, George Washington University School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
