inheritance slayer-rule wrongful-conviction
Defendant lost inheritance due to slayer rule, later exonerated. Do defendant’s descendants have ability to bring a suit?
<p>A family consists of a DAUGHTER, her MOTHER (biological) and her STEP-FATHER (her mother’s second husband). The Step-father had bequeathed all his wealth to the Mother. The Mother had bequeathed all her potential wealth to the Daughter.</p>
<p>The Mother is convicted of killing the Step-Father. The Step-Father’s siblings bring suit against the Mother under the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/slayer_rule" rel="nofollow noreferrer">slayer rule</a> and win all her inheritance. The Daughter gets nothing. The Mother dies.</p>
<p>20 years later, the Daughter uncovers definitive proof exonerating the Mother.</p>
<p>Question: 1. Can she establish her Mother’s innocence legally in court?
2. Can she then sue her Step-father’s siblings for her inheritance which she lost due to slayer rule?</p>

<h2>Question 1: Yes</h2>
<p><a href="https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1332&amp;context=caselrev" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Posthumous Exonerations</a> are possible. Whether this is a judicial or administrative process depends on jurisdiction.</p>
<h2>Question 2: No</h2>
<p>Assuming that the beneficiaries did not illegally cause the conviction, the estate is settled.</p>
