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Can Parents Disinherit Children in Tennessee?

Nashville Blog 2016 January Can Parents Disinherit Children in Tennessee?
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Can Parents Disinherit Children in Tennessee?

Posted By David Whittaker, Attorney at Law || 6-Jan-2016

Working in estate planning and probate law, I’ve seen firsthand that families can be complicated. Occasionally I am asked if a parent can disinherit their child under Tennessee law, and the answer is yes, a parent can disinherit their son or daughter.

While Hollywood has managed to glamorize disinheritance often by showing a wealthy mother or father threatening to cut their child out of the will if they don’t do something, in reality, disinheritance is often tied to divorce.

I have worked with clients who wanted to disinherit one or more of their children.

In many of these cases I’ve noticed a common thread. Usually, the parent who wishes to disinherit the child has remarried.

The parent who is disappointed with their child isn’t so much concerned about drug or alcohol abuse or the child becoming lazy, but it’s about the child “favoring” the other parent.

When I reflect on clients who have disinherited a child, or on a sibling who was disinherited, there is a pattern. In a significant percentage of these types of cases, the child’s natural parents divorced and the relationship between my client and their adult son or daughter soured.

With roughly 50 percent of all marriages ending in divorce, most people will attest that divorce is not only hard on the parents, but it is difficult on the kids.

Some people use their children as pawns to cause emotional turmoil upon their estranged spouses. This is often referred to as “parental alienation” syndrome, and it can be quite effective indeed, but in all the wrong ways unfortunately.

Understandably, a child caught in the middle of a painful divorce may experience emotional problems and bitterness towards one or both parents. When one of their parents falls in love and remarries, sometimes the child grows closer to the parent who remains single.

If you went through a bad divorce and are now considering disinheriting one or more of your children from a previous marriage, please be aware that your divorce may have created emotional turmoil for your children.

If your parents had a painful divorce, my advice to you is to continue honoring and loving both of your parents and do your best to avoid taking sides. Your parent will notice if you are teaming up against him or her.

Speak to a Nashville Estate Planning & Probate Attorney

If you need further information about disinheriting a child or contesting a will, don’t hesitate to contact me, David Whittaker, Attorney at Law. Regardless of what you are going through, I would be glad to guide you every step of the way.

Categories: Inheritance, Estate Planning

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David Whittaker, Attorney at Law

Call Today: (888) 492-4735

David Whittaker, Attorney at Law - Nashville Probate Attorney
1616 Westgate Circle, Suite 127, Brentwood, TN 37027 View Map
Call Today: (888) 492-4735
(615) 289-6284
Website: http://www.attorneydavidwhittaker.com/
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