Beatrice had always told her husband that unless he became more responsible, he would not appear in her will. They got married while still young, but Beatrice had quickly made money in her business. Her husband Tom said he preferred staying home since Beatrice was making the money. Tom was often found drunk and passed out in the house when Beatrice came home. Unfortunately, Beatrice died, and, in her will, she gave all her property and custody of her children to her sister Milly. She said in the will that it was because Tom was an irresponsible drunk who would destroy her estate.
Tom ha vowed that no one will stop him from being with his children or inheriting his wife’s property.
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?
In the law, when a married person dies, it is usually assumed that the surviving spouse will inherit part of their property. However, a will is a document that expresses the last wishes of the deceased person. This means the law is supposed to respect those wishes if they are legal. Therefore, when a spouse refuses to give any property to her spouse citing irresponsibility, the law will respect it.
However, on matters like the custody of children, the law would have to investigate the competence of the spouse to stay or not stay with the children. The one who has been given responsibility over the children or the parent who has been denied custody can apply to the courts for custody.
In this application, the court will decide who should have the children. It is possible that the will denies the other spouse custody of the children, but the court allows it because in the courts’ learned opinion, the surviving spouse can look after the children.
Therefore, in cases where parts of the will are being contested, the one’s contesting it can take the will to court for it to be interpreted for them.
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Source: BarefootLawyers
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