Estate Planning Newsletter

• Two Kinds of Durable Powers of Attorney
  If you become incapacitated, who is supposed to make decisions for you about the management of your property or your health care? A durable power of attorney allows someone you designate to act on your behalf. It is usually included as... Read more.
• Cy Pres Doctrine
  If you create an estate planning document leaving property to a charity, but after your death the transfer cannot occur, the court may apply the cy pres rule. The words “cy pres” are French for “as near.”... Read more.
• Wills that Must be Witnessed
  A witnessed will is only one of several different types of wills. It is also referred to as a “formal” or “attested” will, and involves the eyewitness participation of other... Read more.
• Asset Protection Planning Using Offshore Trusts
  In today’s litigious society more individuals are inquiring about asset protection planning, especially those individuals with a high risk of potential exposure to liability, such as business owners, doctors, or those involved in... Read more.

• Clean Out Your Estate Planning Attic
• Lawyer Has No Duty to Non-Clients Unless Client’s Intent is Definite
• Families get these 3 things wrong about estate planning, advisor says
• Corporate Transparency Act Affects Your Estate Plan
• Strategic Financial Plans For Widows

Does a Killer have Rights to a Victim's Property?

If a person murders a relative, is he/she entitled to receive any of the victim’s property? In most cases, the answer would be “no.” Usually, a convicted killer cannot inherit a victim’s property, even if he/she is a rightful heir or a named beneficiary.

Required Characteristics

To lose all rights to the dead relative’s property, the criminal court will need to find that a killer:

• Intentionally and feloniously killed the person
• Was legally sane at the time of the murder

Even if a person is not convicted of murder in criminal court, he/she may still lose rights to the dead person’s property if the probate court finds that he/she is responsible for the person’s death.

Forfeited Rights

Once the above are established, then the killer is treated as having “predeceased” the murdered person. This means that any rights the killer once had to the decedent’s estate are passed to whomever is next in line to inherit or manage the estate (as if the killer never existed as an heir).

The killer will therefore lose all rights to his/her share of the following:

• Separate, joint, or quasi-community property
• Bond or life insurance benefits
• Any nomination as executor, trustee, guardian, or conservator in the decedent’s will or trust

Other Forfeiture

If the killer pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter (instead of being found guilty of murder), he/she may not be viewed as being innocent and may still lose all rights to the decedent’s property.

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