Disinheritance and Omitted Heirs in California
California lets a parent disinherit an adult child, but not by accident. A child born or adopted after every testamentary instrument was signed, and left out of them, takes an intestate share. So does a child the testator wrongly believed dead or never knew existed.
The uncomfortable part first. California does not give adult children a forced share. A parent may leave you nothing, and if they clearly meant to, that decision generally stands. The cases worth bringing are the ones where the omission was not deliberate, or where the document itself was not truly theirs.
When the law writes you back in
California protects the child who was left out by circumstance rather than by choice. Under Probate Code section 21620, a child born or adopted after the decedent executed all of their testamentary instruments, and omitted from all of them, receives a share of the estate equal in value to what that child would have received had the decedent died without executing any testamentary instrument — in effect, an intestate share. Section 21622 extends the same protection to a different situation: where the testator failed to provide for a living child solely because the testator believed that child to be dead, or was unaware of the child’s birth, the child likewise takes a share equal to what they would have received had no testamentary instrument been executed. Statutory exceptions exist, including where the instrument shows the omission was intentional, so the wording of the document governs.
Sources: Probate Code s.21620 - Omitted child born or adopted after execution · Probate Code s.21622 - Child believed dead or unknown to the testator · Verified 2026-08-04.
The three questions that decide these cases
| Question | Why it decides the outcome |
|---|---|
| When were you born or adopted, relative to the documents? | Section 21620 only reaches a child who arrived after every instrument was signed |
| Does the document say the omission was intentional? | Express disinheritance language is usually the end of an omitted-heir claim |
| Was the document itself valid? | If it was procured by undue influence or signed without capacity, the disinheritance falls with it |
The route that actually works more often
In practice, most people who arrive here believing they were disinherited were not omitted by accident — they were written out, late, by a document that changed after someone else got close. That is not an omitted-heir claim. It is a trust contest or a will contest, and the ground is usually undue influence or incapacity.
It matters which one you bring, because the deadlines are different and the shorter one usually governs what you do first. Check the trust contest clock before anything else.
A no-contest clause is not always the wall it looks like
Many instruments threaten to void a beneficiary’s gift if they challenge. California enforces these only in limited circumstances, and a direct contest brought with probable cause is generally protected. If you have been shown that clause as a reason not to ask questions, that is worth a second opinion rather than a retreat.
Need help with legal fees?
We litigate select cases on contingency, with no upfront fees.
Costs are separate from the fee, and whether you are responsible for them is set out in the written agreement before you sign anything.
How contingency fees work in California
A contingency fee means the attorney is paid from what is recovered rather than by the hour, so a beneficiary who cannot fund litigation out of pocket can still bring a claim. California regulates these agreements closely. Under Business and Professions Code section 6147, the agreement must be in writing and the attorney must give the client a duplicate copy, signed by both, when the contract is made. It must state the agreed contingency rate; how disbursements and costs incurred in prosecuting or settling the claim will affect that fee; and to what extent the client could be required to pay for related matters. Unless the matter falls under section 6146, the agreement must also state that the fee is not set by law and is negotiable. These are not formalities: failure to comply with any provision of section 6147 makes the agreement voidable at the client’s option, leaving the attorney entitled only to a reasonable fee.
Sources: Business and Professions Code s.6147 - Contingency fee contracts · Verified 2026-08-03.
Not every matter suits a contingency arrangement, and the firm does not take every case on one. Whether yours qualifies depends on the facts, the likely recovery, and the assets actually available to satisfy a judgment. Ask when you call.
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