Friday, May 25, 2018

California: Heirs Risk Forfeited Inheritance & Murder Charge If They Kill Victims Under Void Act

By Margaret  Dore, Esq.

In California, a person commits murder in the first degree via "willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing."[1] California also has "slayer statutes," providing that murderers shall not inherit from their victims. As an example, California's Probate Code states:
(a) A person who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent is not entitled to any of the following:
(1) Any property, interest, or benefit under a will of the decedent, or a trust created by or for the benefit of the decedent or in which the decedent has an interest ...  [2] 
With the passage of California's so called "End of Life Options Act," an exception was created for actions taken in accordance with the Act's provisions, which did not " for any purposes, constitute suicide, assisted suicide, homicide [murder], or elder abuse under the law."[3] 

With the Act now declared unconstitutional (void ab initio), adult children hoping to profit from killing their parents may instead find themselves charged with murder and disqualified to inherit.

Footnotes:

[1]  California Penal Code § 189Murder; degrees 
[2]  California Probate Code, § 250, "Person feloniously and intentionally killing decedent; entitlement to decedent's property; effect on decedent's estate.
[3]  End of Life Options Act, Part 1.85, § 443.18 (second sentence)