Does a Killer have Rights to a Victim's Property?

If a person murders a relative, is he/she entitled to receive any of the victim’s property? In most cases, the answer would be “no.” Usually, a convicted killer cannot inherit a victim’s property, even if he/she is a rightful heir or a named beneficiary.

Required Characteristics

To lose all rights to the dead relative’s property, the criminal court will need to find that a killer:

• Intentionally and feloniously killed the person
• Was legally sane at the time of the murder

Even if a person is not convicted of murder in criminal court, he/she may still lose rights to the dead person’s property if the probate court finds that he/she is responsible for the person’s death.

Forfeited Rights

Once the above are established, then the killer is treated as having “predeceased” the murdered person. This means that any rights the killer once had to the decedent’s estate are passed to whomever is next in line to inherit or manage the estate (as if the killer never existed as an heir).

The killer will therefore lose all rights to his/her share of the following:

• Separate, joint, or quasi-community property
• Bond or life insurance benefits
• Any nomination as executor, trustee, guardian, or conservator in the decedent’s will or trust

Other Forfeiture

If the killer pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter (instead of being found guilty of murder), he/she may not be viewed as being innocent and may still lose all rights to the decedent’s property.

© 2020 NextClient.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Application of a Gift Tax
  A gift tax is a tax on the privilege of making gifts to others while the taxpayer is still living. The gift tax supplements the estate tax, which taxes gifts made upon death. The gift tax was created to frustrate the attempts of those... Read more.
• Denying a Death Claim on a Valid Life Insurance Policy
  The beneficiary of a life insurance policy is the person entitled to receive the death benefit of the policy when the insured person dies. In order to collect on a death benefit claim, the beneficiary must usually comply with specific... Read more.
• Tax Treatment of Contaminated Property
  The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) imposes liability for the investigation and cleanup of contaminated real property without regard to whether the landowner created or allowed the... Read more.
• The Delaware Series LLC: Advantages and Pitfalls
  Limited Liability Companies (“LLCs”) are a form of business ownership which is a separate legal entity much like a corporation. An LLC is treated like a partnership for tax purposes and like a corporation for liability... Read more.

• Estate Planning During a Pandemic: Steps to Take
• INSIGHT: Five Signs That Estate Advisors Aren’t Getting With the Digital Program
• Fiduciary Duties in Trusts and Estate Planning
• 4 Ways To Prepare Children Now To Oversee Their Inheritance Later
• https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/26/entertainment/netflix-enola-holmes-sherlock-lawsuit-scli-intl-gbr/index.html