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Native American Restricted Allotments: A Surviving Spouse's Elective Share Rights, Jeffrey S. Kinsler

Law Faculty Scholarship

Nearly all states have laws that prohibit decedents from disinheriting their spouses. In these states, if a surviving spouse is disinherited, the spouse may renounce the will and elect to take a certain percentage of the decedent's estate. In Oklahoma and Nebraska, for instance, a surviving spouse may elect to take one-half of the decedent's estate in lieu of the devises, if any, made for the surviving spouse in the will. These "elective share" statutes afford long-term financial security for surviving spouses. A century ago, Native Americans acquired real estate by allotment. Under the allotment system, the federal government issued …