Unnatural Dispositions Should be Viewed with Suspicion
We should be on the alert when the owner wants to make an unnatural disposition of his property. Most people, more or less, follow the statute of descent and distribution when making a will or trust. Thus:
- Parents usually treat their children equally.
- In second marriages, some division is usually made between the second spouse and the children by the prior marriage.
- If no spouse or children, people usually leave their property to brothers, sisters and then down the bloodline. Others leave property to charity.
Obviously the more remote the heir, the less the statute is followed. Uneven treatment of one’s children is more suspect than uneven treatment of nieces and nephews.
But a radical departure, without justification, should be viewed with suspicion.
