In re Estate of Laura 141 N.H. 628, 690 A.2d 1011 (1997)
Laura had three kids; Edward Jr., Shirley, and JoAnn. He wrote a will that specifically by name mentioned and disinherited Edward Jr., JoAnn, and JoAnn's two kids Richard and Neil. JoAnn and Neil died. o Neil had two children (Laura's great-grandkids), Cecilia and Neil Jr. Cecilia was born one day before Laura's will was executed, and Neil Jr. was born several years after. Laura later attempted to write a codicil that gave shares to Edward and Richard, but it was never properly witnessed. Then he died. Cecilia and Neil Jr. stepped forward and asked for shares as pretermitted heirs. o A pretermitted heir is a descendant who was omitted from the will. The assumption is that the omission was accidental, "unless there is evidence in the will itself that the omission was intentional." By Statute, pretermitted heirs get the share they would have received under intestate succession. o Since Cecilia and Neil Jr. were not alive when Laura's will was written, they were obviously omitted. The Probate Court barred Cecilia and Neil Jr. from inheriting. They appealed. o Cecilia and Neil Jr. argued that since JoAnn and Neil Sr. were dead, they were entitled to inherit per stirpes. They further argued that just because JoAnn and Neil Sr. were explicitly disinherited by name, they were not, so they still fell under the pretermitted heir statute. The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed. o The New Hampshire Supreme Court found that a testator who specifically names one heir in an effort to disinherit them has "referred to" the descendents of that heir for the purposes of that Statute. Basically, by explicitly disinheriting JoAnn and
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Neil, Laura also disinherited all of JoAnn's children and grandchildren, even the ones not specifically named. JoAnn was never entitled to a share, so her grandkids couldn't get more than she would have received.