‘Forced heirship’ in the United States of America, with particular reference to New York State

The degree of protection afforded to children in matters of succession in the United States is generally much more limited than the protection afforded children in many civil law jurisdictions outside the United States. However, many U.S. jurisdictions afford substantial protection in matters of inheritance to surviving spouses, which could be said to amount to a form of forced heirship for surviving spouses. The article first focuses on key provisions of New York law and of the Uniform Probate Code to illustrate the major approaches of most U.S. jurisdictions to the protection of children and spouses in matters of inheritance. The article then discusses the choice-of-law rules that may apply in U.S. jurisdictions to determine whether non-U.S. laws providing forced heirship protection can ever apply to U.S. property, illustrated by provisions of the Restatement (Second) on Conflict of Laws and by Section 3-5.1 of the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law of the State of New York. The article also comments on the role that the European Succession Regulation may come to play under the choice-of-law rules of New York State.