elective share

elective share

The ability of a surviving spouse to elect to take a specified percentage of the decedent's estate rather than the amount left by the will.Most states make some sort of provision so that a surviving spouse cannot be completely disinherited.The vehicle may be the common law rights of curtesy (the widower's share) or dower (the widow's share). Because of archaic concepts about the relative needs of surviving spouses, dower and curtesy did not provide the same benefits to husbands as to wives. As a result, many states passed statutes modifying the rules or even completely abolishing them in favor of a statutory scheme. The statutory system usually allows a surviving spouse to elect between taking what was provided in the will or taking a certain preset percentage of the decedent's estate.