Section 3.28 “In Terrorem” Clauses

• Library: Estate Planning 2013 Forms

On rare occasions, a testator not only wants to reduce or omit a share of the testator’s estate for a particular beneficiary but also wants to “terrorize” the beneficiary whose share was reduced into refraining from challenging the validity of the will or be excluded altogether. Occasionally, these clauses are referred to as “in terrorem” clauses because they are designed to coerce a beneficiary into accepting an unpleasant result (i.e., a reduced share of the estate). If the bequest that is given to the...