pretermitted heir statute
pretermitted-heir statute. A state law that, under certain circumstances, grants an omitted heir the right to inherit a share of the testator’s estate, usu. by treating the heir as though the testator had died intestate. • Most states have a pretermitted-heir statute, under which an omitted child or spouse receives the same share of the estate as if the testator had died intestate, unless the omission was intentional. The majority rule, and that found in the Uniform Probate Code, is that only afterborn children — that is, children born after the execution of a will — receive protection as pretermitted heirs. Under that circumstance, an inference arises that their omission was inadvertent rather than purposeful. — Also termed pretermission statute. [Cases: Descent and Distribution 47. C.J.S. Descent and Distribution §§ 51–54.]
