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Law’s Joan Burda comments on the intricacies of inheritance law

Reason ‘greedy’ woman asked for her parents’ entire inheritance cheered

NewsweekJoan Burda, adjunct professor of law, discussed the intricacies of inheritance law. “Parents may disinherit their children for any or no reason,” she said. “If a parent dies without a will (known as intestacy), however, every state has a statute that provides for the distribution of an estate. The usual lineup is: surviving spouse, children, parents, siblings, and down the line. These statutes will only apply if the decedent either did not have a valid will or if some provisions of the will were unenforceable.”