What is a pretermitted spouse?

I’ve written before about pretermitted (forgotten) children and their rights to inherit. You can read the articles here and here. Basically, a pretermitted child is one who is born after a will is executed and is not otherwise provided for by the parent. In that case, the pretermitted child would inherit a share of the parent’s estate even though he is not mentioned in the will.

Some states also recognize a pretermitted wife or spouse. In that case, if a marriage takes place after a will is executed and the wife is not otherwise provided for by the husband, she takes a share of the estate even though she is not mentioned in the husband’s will. See, for example, the California Probate Code Section 21610-21612. Washington state also recognizes a pretermitted spouse. No. 30995-9-III.

Pretermitted wife not recognized in Texas

Texas does not recognize a pretermitted wife, only pretermitted children. A child in Texas who is contesting a will may recover under the pretermitted child statute. A wife in a will contest in Texas may not since there is no Texas statute recognizing a pretermitted spouse, but see this article where a pretermitted spouse was successful in Texas.