Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Tennessee
Must you leave a portion of money to a child in your will if you want to disinherit them, so they can not contest the will..... Thank You, Deanna Akers
1 Answer from Attorneys
In Tennessee, children have no right to a portion of a parent's estate if that parent creates a valid will which specifically omits that child from inheritance. So that the parent's intentions are clear, the parent's will should reference the child and state specifically that the child is not to receive any portion of the estate. (If the child is simply omitted from the will, he or she may be deemed a 'pretermitted' child and could be entitled to a child's share of the estate. This law can be found at Tennessee Code Section 32-3-103 - go here online: http://www.michie.com/tennessee/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=tncode.
I hope this information is helpful.