Can someone leave their spouse out of a Will and give their money to someone else?
August 14, 2020
Gemma Charlton
Legal Moment
Legal Moment on Fresh Radio
Transcript
| [phone ringing] | |
| Receptionist: | Cohen Highley |
| Announcer: | And now the Cohen Highley Legal Moment on Fresh Radio. |
| Announcer: | I’m with Gemma Charlton from Cohen Highley Lawyers. Can someone leave their spouse out of a Will and give their money to someone else? |
| Gemma Charlton: | You can mostly leave your estate to anyone you like. However, a married spouse can either receive what you have left them or receive an equalization payment as if you had been divorced immediately prior to your death. So, if your Will didn’t leave anything to your spouse, it’s likely that they would make the election to receive the equalization payment. |
| Announcer: | Would say leaving $1.00 avoid this? |
| Gemma Charlton: | Most likely not. If the equalization payment is larger, they are still likely to make that election. Also, if your spouse was financially dependent upon you prior to your death and you didn’t make adequate provision for that, they may be able to make a claim against the estate for support. If you owed an obligation for support, I doubt $1.00 would be adequate. |
| Announcer | Thank you, Gemma. This has been the Cohen Highley legal moment. |
| [Music] | |
| Singers: | Cohen Highley, we’re listening. cohenhighley.com |
