Get rid of her first

20 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this short monologue, Jerry Taylor recounts a real‑world estate‑planning case where a father left his son a $600,000 inheritance that was conditioned on the son divorcing his wife. The court rejected the condition as a violation of public policy, allowing the son to receive the money while remaining married. Taylor explains that any will provision that forces a divorce is unenforceable, regardless of the testator’s wishes. He advises that the proper way to shield an inheritance from a spouse you distrust is to use a trust with distribution conditions rather than a will‑based divorce requirement, emphasizing that attempting to block a daughter‑in‑law through a will can backfire.

Chapters

So dad died and left his son $600,000, but only if he divorced his wife. Dad couldn't stand her, never could, put it in his will. My son inherits only if he ends his marriage. Then dad died, son took it to court. The judge threw it out. Son got the money anyway and stayed married. Here's what they don't tell you. Courts will not enforce conditions that require somebody to get divorced. Called a condition against public policy. Doesn't matter what you wrote. Doesn't matter how much you didn't like her. The court will strike it. And the inheritance passes anyway. If you want to protect an inheritance from a spouse you don't trust, you do it through a trust with distribution conditions, not through a will with a divorce requirement. Because the only thing worse than your daughter-in-law getting the money is her getting the money and knowing you tried to stop her. Follow me.