Also known as: omitted child · pretermitted child · pretermitted children · pretermitted heir
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A statutory protection granting a child born or adopted after a testator executes a will a share of the estate equal in value to the intestate share the child would have received. The protection applies when the testator had no living children at execution and made no provision for the later child. An exception withholds the share when the will devised all or substantially all of the estate to the omitted child's other parent who survives the testator and takes under the will.
A statutory protection granting a child born or adopted after a testator executes a will a share of the estate equal in value to the intestate share the child would have received. The protection applies when the testator had no living children at execution and made no provision for the later child. An exception withholds the share when the will devised all or substantially all of the estate to the omitted child's other parent who survives the testator and takes under the will.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A statutory protection granting an omitted child a share limited to the devises made to the testator's then-living children. That limited portion is divided equally among all children including the omitted child, with ratable abatement of the earlier devises.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A statutory protection granting an omitted child a share limited to the devises made to the testator's then-living children. That limited portion is divided equally among all children including the omitted child, with ratable abatement of the earlier devises.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Evan executed a will leaving his entire estate to his former wife Lena. Years later Evan married Maria and they had a daughter Chloe. Evan died without revising the will. Chloe petitions for an omitted-child share. Because Evan had no children when he signed the will and the devise went to a former spouse rather than Chloe's other parent, the statute awards Chloe the share she would have received had Evan died intestate.
A testator executed a will before any children existed. After the will was signed the testator and spouse conceived a child through assisted reproduction. The testator died before the child's birth. The child petitions for an omitted-child share. The statute treats the posthumous child as omitted and supplies the intestate share unless the will left substantially all assets to the surviving parent.
An omitted child receives an intestate share when the testator had no living children at will execution and later failed to provide for the child in the will. The share equals what the child would have taken had the testator died intestate. The exception applies only when the will left substantially all assets to the child's other surviving parent who takes under the will.
Supporting sources
A devise to a former spouse does not bar the claim. The statutory exception requires that substantially all of the estate pass to the omitted child's other parent. A former spouse is not that parent, so the child receives the intestate share.
Supporting sources
Lifetime support does not defeat the claim. The statute protects the child unless the testator made an outside transfer intended as a substitute for a testamentary gift or the will left substantially all assets to the other parent.
Supporting sources
Amelia executed a will devising her apartment buildings to her three then-living children and the residue to her spouse Christina. After execution Amelia gave birth to Martin and died without updating the will. Martin claims an omitted-child share. The statute limits Martin's recovery to the buildings devised to the then-living children, leaving the cash residue with Christina.
The omitted child's share is limited to the devises made to the then-living children. That limited portion is divided equally among all children including the omitted child, with ratable abatement of the earlier devises.
Supporting sources
…least in part, the burden borne by the citizens of the commonwealth"); G. L. c. 191, § 20 (establishing inheritance rights for pretermitted children); G. L. c. 196, §§ 1-3 (permitting allowances from estate to widows and minor children); G. L. c. 209C, § 14 (permitting paternity claims to be commenced prior to birth). See also G. L. c.…