Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Publication
Florida State University Law Review
Volume
51
Abbreviation
Fla. St. U. L. Rev.
First Page
993
Abstract
This Article explores the tension between inheritance law’s designation of certain beneficiaries as natural and unnatural for certain purposes and its organizing principle of testamentary freedom. Either inheritance law is primarily concerned with effectuating the preference of the decedent or it is primarily concerned with safeguarding the economic health of the family. It cannot be both. Ultimately, one of these two must yield. Either we acknowledge that decedents don’t have the level of dispositional freedom that is advertised or we change the law’s designation of some devises as natural and other as unnatural.
This Article proposes a pathway to relieve the tension and better align the concept of natural objects of bounty with testamentary freedom. The fix is relatively simple: edit out the word natural and replace it with a something like intended to focus the inquiry on the decedent’s preferences rather than our view of what the decedent’s preferences should have been. The test should be descriptive rather than normative. A devise that runs counter to what the decedent intended should raise a red flag. That is an “unnatural” outcome. But, if testamentary freedom means anything, a devise should not ring warning bells for running counter to what society thinks a decedent should do. After all, testamentary freedom is only meaningful if it effectively protects decedents who wish to do unexpected things with their estates.
This Article proceeds in a few parts. The first part focuses on the natural objects of one’s bounty: who they are and how they are relevant to legal determinations. The second part focuses on freedom of disposition in inheritance law: what it is and why we have it. The third part discusses the tensions between these two concepts and suggests sensible reforms to relieve the tensions. Finally, the Article concludes with some closing thoughts.