Intentional Interference With Inheritance — Can I Sue?

**Video Transcription**

A few years back, the State of California recognized a new type of legal right called intentional interference with an inheritance. And this is something that you can bring – a lawsuit you can bring in civil court and you can sue a person who wrongly interfered with your inheritance.

There’s just one big catch – and that is, you must not otherwise have a legal remedy. So if you’re a family member, an heir at law, you’re somebody who was previously named in a trust, but then you were taken out – all of those types of people have the right, usually, to go to probate court and file some sort of lawsuit. They can file a trust contest, a will contest, whatever it is, they have the right to pursue those claims.

If you’re one of those people who have a right to pursue a lawsuit in probate court, then you cannot bring an intentional interference lawsuit. The intentional interference lawsuit are reserved for people who otherwise would have no recourse, no legal rights to sue. And so who are these people? Well, typically, it’s going to non-married partners. Because a non-married partner is usually not a family member, and they’re not legally married, and if you don’t have a registered domestic partnership, then, really you have no other rights. Your only right, if somebody were to come in and interfere with an inheritance you were going to receive, would be to sue the person who did the interfering.

So typically intentional interference with an expected inheritance lawsuit can be brought but is most likely going to apply to non-married partners.

You really should take some time, sit down, have a consultation with a lawyer, if you think that your inheritance was interfered with, and find out what your rights are what actions you can take.