Feb 19, 2026
Disputes over inheritance are never easy issues for families to manage. While having an up-to-date and legal will can sometimes help avoid these issues, there may be instances where a child or spouse does not believe what they’ve been left in a will is fair.
Imagine Joel, 32, and his younger sister, Carly, 28; their father died four years ago, leaving his estate to their mother, Wynn. Wynn inherited and still lives in the family home, and she received a $500,000 life insurance benefit when her husband, Mark, died.
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Mark’s father Brian, Joel and Carly’s grandfather, passed away this year. Mark was an only child, and after Mark died, Brian updated his will to leave his entire estate to Joel and Carly. However, he did not tell the family that he had made this decision, or that Wynn would not be included in the will.
Unfortunately, Wynn is having money troubles, and she thinks that some of Brian’s estate should go to her. She told Joel that she is entitled to part of the estate, and that he and Carly each have to give her half of what they inherit from their grandfather.
Joel is uncertain whether what his mother is saying is true, and he is afraid of causing a rift in the family. But he also knows that his mother has spent the entire life insurance benefit. He wants to honor his grandfather’s wishes, and also wonders whether his grandfather was aware that Wynn was being financially irresponsible when he made the decision to leave her out of the will.
Do family relationships override a will?
There are certain instances where surviving children and spouses may be able to go to court to contest a will.
Surviving spouses have rights when it comes to estates, even if a will is written to disinherit them, or leave them less than they are entitled to. What a spouse is entitled to is determined by state laws (1). According to online legal resource Jusita, “No testator [the person who has left a will] may completely disinherit their spouse against the spouse’s wishes (2).”
Children, however, don’t have protected inheritance rights, but if a child is inexplicably left out of a will, the court may assume that the parent did intend for that child to be included, such as if a child was born after the last valid will was written (2). In Joel’s case, his grandfather’s will is likely perfectly valid — though grandchildren have fewer rights to make claims on an estate than children, his grandfather’s will is valid and he was entitled to disinherit his daughter.
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If Joel is concerned about his mother’s claims that she is entitled to part of his grandfather’s estate, he could consider speaking with a lawyer.
For those with a potentially financially irresponsible heir, there are ways to include them in your will with restrictions on how the funds are distributed. For example, a spendthrift trust limits or regulates your beneficiary’s access to the assets, which can include paying out a monthly or annual sum from the trust. Another option is to set up an annuity which can also pay out regular income and is more suitable for smaller estates (3).
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The importance of wills
This scenario highlights how important it is to have an up-to-date and legal will. However, it also shows that when you don’t advise family members what your decisions about your estate are, it can leave people feeling blindsided, or angry.
Some parents or grandparents may choose to leave a child or grandchildren out of their will, but depending on state laws, and whether the will is legal, there may be some instances where aggrieved parties could contest the will in probate court.
Having discussions about estate planning is never easy, and many people avoid it for that very reason. However, if you don’t talk to your family about your wishes, and how you have laid them out in your will, you may be burdening them with a difficult situation after you’re gone.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Porte Brown (1); Justia (2); TIAA (3).
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Rebecca Payne has more than a decade of experience editing and producing both local and national daily newspapers. She's worked on the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Metro, Canada's National Observer, the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
