In re Estate of Laura
141 N.H. 628, 690 A.2d 1011 (1997)
Laura had three kids; Edward
Jr., Shirley, and JoAnn. He wrote a will that specifically by name mentioned and disinherited Edward Jr., JoAnn,
and JoAnn's two kids Richard and Neil.
JoAnn and Neil died.
Neil had two children
(Laura's great-grandkids), Cecilia and Neil Jr. Cecilia was born one day
before Laura's will was executed, and Neil Jr. was born several years
after.
Laura later attempted to write
a codicil that gave shares to
Edward and Richard, but it was never properly witnessed. Then he died.
Cecilia and Neil Jr. stepped
forward and asked for shares as pretermitted heirs.
A pretermitted heir is a descendant who was omitted from the will.
The assumption is that the omission was accidental, "unless there
is evidence in the will itself that the omission was intentional."
By Statute, pretermitted
heirs get the share they would have
received under intestate succession.
Since Cecilia and Neil Jr.
were not alive when Laura's will was written, they were obviously
omitted.
The Probate Court barred
Cecilia and Neil Jr. from inheriting. They appealed.
Cecilia and Neil Jr. argued
that since JoAnn and Neil Sr. were dead, they were entitled to inherit per
stirpes.
They further argued that
just because JoAnn and Neil Sr. were explicitly disinherited by name,
they were not, so they still fell under the pretermitted heir statute.
The New Hampshire Supreme
Court affirmed.
The New Hampshire Supreme
Court found that a testator who
specifically names one heir in an effort to disinherit them has
"referred to" the descendents of that heir for the purposes of
that Statute.
Basically, by explicitly
disinheriting JoAnn and Neil, Laura also disinherited all of JoAnn's children
and grandchildren, even the ones not specifically named.
JoAnn was never entitled to
a share, so her grandkids couldn't get more than she would have
received.