What Is a ‘Suspect Class’ Conflict and Is it Enforceable?

What Is a ‘Suspect Class’ Conflict and Is it Enforceable?- To be sure, Juliet and her family never receive any Montague assets; they have the estate planning attorney draft a trust to disinherit their son Romeo if he ever marries Juliet. This is called a “suspect class” conflict, where the testator disinherits someone because of their religion, race, nationality, or, in this case, family.

A recent article, “Can a will discriminate when the dead hand controls the future?” from Daily Journal, digs into the details of disinheritance. A family can do whatever they want with their property, and they can direct it to whomever they wish. However, the reasons for disinheritance matter. If the terms of a trust are violated because the person married someone from a suspect class, could this hold up in court?

A modern will could be drafted to disinherit a beneficiary if they marry someone who is a member of a group not acceptable to the testator (the person creating the will or trust). However, this raises a conflict between testamentary freedom and public policy. Whether it is enforceable may depend on where probate occurs and which suspect class is involved.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision dating back to 1948 outlays restrictive covenants based on race enforced through state action. However, if a trust’s principal asset is a house and the trust disinherits a beneficiary who married a person of a different race, does it then become a housing discrimination matter?

What Is a ‘Suspect Class’ Conflict and Is it Enforceable?

Property owners have an almost unrestricted right to dispose of property, with donor intention the driving factor. However, there is a caveat: courts are obligated to effectuate the donor’s intent “to the maximum extent allowed by law.” Even though the court cannot substitute its judgment or values for the creator of the trust or will, courts may intervene if the intention leads to a result prohibited or restricted by law or public policy. Among those restrictions are those relating to racial discrimination or other restrictions.

In California, restraints on marriage and remarriage are void, even if the person clearly intended the restraint and the will or trust implicitly conditioned inheritance on that restraint. In Massachusetts, a case concerned a parent’s will stating that a person who married outside of their faith would have their portion of the estate going to the next in line, as if that person had died. In this case, the court said the request was reasonable, as the issue was whether the testator was prevented from doing what he did by a rule of law, not whether the court should approve or disapprove the action.

One more case needs to be mentioned. It concerned a significant bequest to a school. However, it required the gift not be used for the cheerleading squad. A brave judge, who perhaps had non-cheerleading children.

For families with strong opinions about what heirs should or should not do, a candid conversation with an experienced estate planning attorney may provide options less likely to lead to litigation.

Schedule your phone consultation: THE LAW OFFICES OF CLAUDE S. SMITH, III

What Is a ‘Suspect Class’ Conflict and Is it Enforceable?

Reference: Daily Journal (July 10, 2026) “Can a will discriminate when the dead hand controls the future?”