Should your will have an exclusionary clause?

Should your will have an exclusionary clause? Disinheritance means to not leave any inheritance to an heir in a Last Will and Testament. The act of disinheriting someone cuts off their entitlement to any share of a testator’s estate.

Speaker 1: It ran that it's beneficial to have in your will an exclusionary clause to exclude people that you don't name in your will? Is that necessary in Orange County, Florida?"

Attorney Tom Olsen: It's not necessary, but it's good practice. For example, if you came to me and said, "Tom, I've got four kids, and I want to leave everything to three of them, but I don't want to leave anything to my son, Bill," then I'm going to put language in your will that says, "I have intentionally omitted my son, Bill, for my own reasons." It's not required by law, but it's good practice.

Speaker 1: Is it best to mention his name specifically or just a blank omission of anybody whose not mentioned in the will?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Oh, I think that's so vague, it's not really serving a purpose.

Speaker 1: Okay.

Attorney Tom Olsen: The reason that we do that is that if you were to pass away, and your son, Bill, were to challenge the will, he might say, "Hey, dad just forgot that he had another son named Bill. That's why I'm not in there." By putting that language in there that you specifically omit Bill, then we're going to cut off that argument.