Elective share
Certified Financial Planner glossary · Certified Financial Planner
Definition
A surviving spouse’s statutory right to claim a portion of the deceased spouse’s estate notwithstanding the will.
Elective share in plain English
A will leaves the family lake house to a niece and "nothing" to the surviving spouse. Elective share is the spouse's statutory right to claim a portion of the deceased spouse's estate anyway, notwithstanding what the will says. It is a forced heirship-style protection under state law, not a federal tax election and not the same as a QTIP or marital trust strategy. Spot the disinherited spouse first; the claim that survives the will is elective share, not a redesign of the estate plan on the page.
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