Wills, trusts and estates
Part of the common law series
Wills
Legal history of wills Joint wills and mutual wills Will contract · Codicil Holographic will · Oral will
Sections Attestation clause Residuary clause Incorporation by reference
Contest Testamentary capacity Undue influence Insane delusion · Fraud No-contest clause
Property disposition Lapse and anti-lapse Ademption · Abatement Satisfaction of legacies Acts of independent significance Elective share · Pretermitted heir Wills and conflict of laws
Trusts
Express · Resulting Constructive
Common types Bare · Discretionary Accumulation and Maintenance Interest in possession Charitable · Purpose · Incentive
Other types Protective · Spendthrift Life insurance · Remainder Life interest Reversionary interest Testamentary Honorary · Asset-protection Special needs (Supplemental Needs)
Governing doctrines Pour-over will Cy-près doctrine Trusts and conflict of laws
Estate administration
Intestacy · Testator · Probate Power of appointment Simultaneous death · Slayer rule Laughing heir · Advancement Disclaimer of interest · Inheritance tax
Related topics
Advance directive (Living will) Totten trust
Other common law areas
Contract · Tort · Property Criminal law · Evidence
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The slayer rule, in the common law of inheritance, is a doctrine that prohibits inheritance by a person who murders someone from whom he or she stands to inherit. The effect of the slaying was that the slayer would be treated as though he or she had died before the person who had been murdered.^{[clarification needed Is this part of the common law slayer rule, or is it exclusive to jurisdictions with slayer statutes?][citation needed]} It was necessary to prove the wrongful killing by only a preponderance of the evidence, as in the case of a wrongful death claim. If the slayer was later convicted of the murder, that would conclusively divest him or her of his or her interest; but if the slayer was acquitted of the murder, the court administering the estate could still weigh the evidence and determine whether or not the alleged killer should be divested.

In the United States, most jurisdictions have enacted a slayer statute, which codifies the rule and supplies additional conditions.

[edit] Maryland Slayer Rule

This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. (December 2009)

The Maryland Slayer Rule is harsher than most other states. In Maryland, neither the murderer nor his or her direct issue may benefit from the killing.

Example:

A mother leaves her son $50,000, leaves her son's child $100,000, and leaves her residuary estate to her daughter. If the son kills his mother, then under Maryland law, neither the son nor his child will take. Both the son and the son's child will be treated as if they pre-deceased the mother, and thus the entire estate will go to the daughter.^{[citation needed]}

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