"...Illinois High Court Rules Trust Assets May Be Withheld From Heirs Who Married Non-Jews
Last Updated: 9/30/2009 4:53:02 PM..."
"...Reversing an appeals court, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that assets in a trust may be withheld from grandchildren who married outside the Jewish faith, as the original trust document required. However, the ruling does not address the issue of whether the provision of the original trust disinheriting someone if they married a non-Jew is invalid because it is against public policy..."
"...Max Feinberg established a trust that contained a clause disinheriting any of his grandchildren if they married outside the Jewish faith. Despite this clause, four of his five grandchildren chose to marry spouses who were not Jewish. After both Max and his wife, Erla, had died, one of the grandchildren sued her father and an aunt and uncle -- the co-executors of Max and Erla's estates -- claiming that the three had conspired to evade estate taxes and had misappropriated millions of dollars from the estates...A trial court ruled that the clause disinheriting the grandchildren was invalid because it was against public policy by placing a significant limitation on the grandchildren's freedom to marry...In June 2008, the Appellate Court of Illinois...[agreed] that the provisions are against public policy. The Feinberg children appealed the ruling...In reversing the lower courts, the Illinois Supreme Court based its decision on the fact that Erla had a "power of appointment" that allowed her to reassign which descendants could benefit from the trust...disinheriting the grandchildren who had married outside the Jewish faith...the court did not address the broader question of whether the restrictions in Max's estate plan run counter to public policy..."
To read the Illinois Supreme Court's decision in In re Estate of Feinberg (Ill., No. 106982, Sept. 24, 2009), click here.
The lesson here is that the assets of the estate remain in limbo - years later - and only the attorneys are getting rich so be thoughtful (using a licensed attorney) about how much you want to control people who might inherit your remaining wealth. There are so many scary stories like this one.