The current estate tax situation in the United States, where no estate tax currently exists on virtually any amount of money left two children while an estate tax of 55% with an exemption of $1 million comes into effect on January 1, 2011 has led to much speculation some parents may find themselves with an untimely demise.  While this may or may not be true, it is a worthwhile exercise to review the rules in this regard.

One of the often repeated rules regarding the Islamic rules of inheritance is the fact that a murderer is excluded from inheritance under the Islamic rules of inheritance. Inheritance is the right of the person who receives it. That right comes because it exists in the Shari’ah. The right is similarly extinguished for the same reason, if at all.

While it is true that this is the rule of Islam, it is also true in the United States.  It is known as “the slayer rule.”

This rule is codified in virtually all states and is included in the uniform probate code. In California, there are a series of probate code sections starting with probate code §250 that address what occurs in the event of murder. This is a public policy issue. In general, this was also the rule of common law, a murderer cannot benefit from his or her own bad acts. This may seem like an obscure planning point since it’s unlikely to happen in any given family, however, there are many cases on the books were these statutes come into play.

Nevertheless, this rule may be applied differently in different states. It is possible in some states, if the killing was done by a person without adequate mental capacity or was in self-defense, the result would be different.  One recent case in Illinois so that a person who is not guilty by reason of insanity can still not obtain any benefit. Other states have found differently.

The California statute specifically includes “state of mind” language in it which would affect the results of a person seeking to obtain inheritance after killing the person he or she is to inherit from.