“Can I prevent my daughter-in-law from getting any part of my estate?” The attorneys at Beck, Lenox & Stolzer Estate Planning and Elder Law have been asked that question many times about the daughter-in-law or son-in-law. The answer is yes, and solutions are explained in a recent article from yahoo! finance, “I plan to leave my entire $2.5 million estate to my son, but I don’t want his wife to ever get any. How do I ensure that?”
A survey from Psychology Today mentioned in the article says 60% of women report having a negative relationship with their mother-in-law, while 15% of men have the same problem. These situations can make estate planning a little more complicated. However, with good estate planning, this is a solvable problem.
Wills are the most common tool for directing who will receive money and property. However, they have limitations. If money is passed to an adult child and they are very careful to maintain sole ownership, the money could remain with the adult child if the couple divorces. However, most people aren’t that careful.
Once an inheritance is commingled with marital assets, such as using it to purchase a shared home or depositing it into a joint bank account, the inheritance becomes marital property. If there were a divorce, these assets would be considered marital assets and vulnerable to a settlement of joint assets.
Once a beneficiary receives an inheritance, they control who will receive it upon their own passing. In this case, the adult son could leave whatever remains of the inheritance to his wife upon his death. If the adult son passes before the daughter-in-law, the assets would go to whoever the daughter-in-law wishes. If the daughter-in-law remarries, her new spouse could easily receive the original mother-in-law’s inheritance.
This situation calls for a trust that can protect the inheritance and ensure the assets are distributed according to the mother’s wishes. With a trust, a mother appoints a trustee to manage the assets on behalf of the beneficiaries. There are different types of trusts, with different restrictions.
A revocable or living trust gives the grantor the freedom to make changes to the trust and to instruct how and when beneficiaries receive their inheritance. While she is alive, she maintains control of the trust’s assets.
With an irrevocable trust, the grantor may not make changes to the trust and gives up control of the assets once they are placed in the trust. While this is more restrictive, the assets in the trust enjoy stronger creditor protection and are removed from the grantor’s taxable estate.
An estate planning attorney can advise on how to protect an inheritance if a parent wants their child to benefit from the trust but doesn’t want a daughter-in-law to have access to the assets. It takes some planning. However, this is not an uncommon situation, and estate planning can provide solutions.
If you think you want to look into this, contact us and ask about our Heritage Trust. It just may be what will best protect your child’s inheritance. Current clients should call our office. Prospective clients can click here to schedule a free phone consult.
Reference: yahoo! finance (Nov. 17, 2025) “I plan to leave my entire $2.5 million estate to my son, but I don’t want his wife to ever get any. How do I ensure that?”
