In the United States, mandatory family protection is often subordinated to freedom of testation. Although spousal protection provisions exist, the content of these laws often differs dramatically from state to state. By contrast, children and other descendants of the deceased have little or no protection against disinheritance except in Louisiana. Related legal doctrines, such as the law of undue influence do, however, often serve some protective role against the unreasonable omission of descendants from a testator’s will. Even in Louisiana, which still maintains a doctrine of forced heirship, the content of the protection has changed from a law providing for family solidarity to one imposing n alimentary obligation upon the deceased in favour of limited classes of descendants.
On Legislation as to Life Insurance and Life Insurance Companies