When the relationship between a parent and child grows distant because of the child’s wrongdoing, a parent may consider disinheriting that child from their Will. However, it is important to know that a disinherited child can still challenge the Will in court.
If the court agrees with the child’s claim, the court can award a part of the estate to the disinherited child. In the contrary, to uphold a disinheritance, the court must be convinced that the reasons for disinheritance were both valid and reasonable.
Not just any kind of behaviour can validate the disinheritance. There are many factors which the court will consider. However, generally speaking, the misconduct must be severe. A child cannot be disinherited simply because the parents are disappointed in them or because of “disapproved” life choices. Even if an adult child has wronged their parent, a disinheritance may not be justified if the child made sincere efforts to reconcile or was otherwise a dutiful child.
Case Study
Recently, in the case of Simmons v McDougall Estate, 2024 BCSC 1221, the court considered the claims of two daughters, Johanna and Jennifer, who each received $200,000 from their mother’s $2 million estate. The majority of the estate was left with the mother’s son. The main consideration of the judge was whether the mother’s choice to leave only $200,000 to each of her two daughters was valid and reasonable.
During their lives, Johanna and her mother’s relationship began to worsen as Johanna became increasingly uncomfortable with her mother’s involvement with her children. Johanna’s mother refused to accept boundaries, frequently appearing unannounced, and interfered with Johanna’s parenting. The relationship continued to deteriorate between the two because of access to the grandchildren, eventually leading to a lawsuit against Johanna for greater access and a long period of hostility.
Jennifer, the will maker’s other daughter, permanently left home after overhearing her brother tell their mother that if Jennifer was making her life miserable, she should ask Jennifer to leave. Jennifer and her mom reconnected later but the relationship soured again when her mother and Jennifer’s brother supported Jennifer’s ex-husband in a court application on parenting time.
At trial, the court found that the mother was largely to blame for the worsened relationships with her daughters. She refused to accept Johanna’s boundaries and instead filed a lawsuit against her own daughter. Furthermore, the mother refused Johanna’s good faith attempts to reach out. Although Jennifer did not make similar efforts to reconcile, the court concluded that the mother played a significant role in Jennifer’s departure and the circumstances only strengthened the mother’s duty to Jennifer. Furthermore, Jennifer had a good reason to be upset about her mother’s involvement in her parenting dispute with her ex-husband.
Ultimately, the court concluded that a judicious parent would have recognized her own role in creating and failing to heal the rifts between parent and child, and the court varied the will to distribute 25% of the estate each to Johanna and Jennifer, which increased their amounts from $200,000 to $500,000 each.
Conclusion
The court will consider many factors when considering the wills variation claims of adult children. Even if there was long estrangement between the parent and child, the court may not find that a disinheritance or limited inheritance was justified.
If you have questions about estate planning or need assistance contesting a will, we encourage you to contact our Wills & Estates Team.