Grandkids Who Lost Inheritance for Marrying Non-Jews Lose Appeal

Four grandchildren excluded from an inheritance because they married outside the Jewish faith have lost their appeal before the Illinois Supreme Court.

The court ruled in a family feud prompted by the will of Chicago dentist Max Feinberg, the Associated Press reports. Feinberg’s will gave his property in trust to his wife, Erla, and said his assets should go to their descendants after her death. The will said the descendants could inherit as long as they married someone who was Jewish or willing to convert within a year of marriage, the Volokh Conspiracy reports.

Erla had a power of appointment allowing her to reassign which descendants could benefit from the trust, but she went along with her late husband’s wishes and disinherited four grandchildren. The legal fight began when two of the grandchildren accused the Feinbergs’ daughter, Leila Taylor, of using $1.6 million in funds for her own benefit. Taylor argued the grandchildren had no standing under the “Jewish clause.”

The supreme court upheld Erla’s decision, leaving open the question whether her husband’s wishes could have been enforced absent her power of appointment, according to the Volokh Conspiracy.

The opinion, however, had this broad language: “Because a testator or the settlor of a trust is not a state actor, there are no constitutional dimensions to his choice of beneficiaries. Equal protection does not require that all children be treated equally; due process does not require notice of conditions precedent to potential beneficiaries; and the free exercise clause does not require a grandparent to treat grandchildren who reject his religious beliefs and customs in the same manner as he treats those who conform to his traditions.”

The Illinois Supreme Court decision reversed an Illinois appeals court ruling that said honoring Feinberg’s wishes would violate public policy.