inheritance and marriage

Good question. It's a close call. The reason is that there is a strong public policy involving freedom to marry or to not marry, and so a court won't be so willing to enforce a provision in a will which violates public policy. On the other hand, there is also a strong public policy which says that someone is allowed to dispose of their property at death in any way they choose, even for ridiculous reasons. So the bottom line is that your friend is going to have to hire a lawyer to fight the case for her, and the outcome is not certain either way. Most likely, odds are that the public policy in favor of testamentary freedom outweighs the public policy regarding freedom to marry. But it's not a slam dunk case either way. Of course the more money at stake means your friend can hire a lawyer to do lots and lots of research and writing on the topic and build up your friend's case. It's possible in your state or county there's a particular case already decided on the matter; someone has to go search for that possibility. In New York, for example, a fellow left an inheritance to a child "only if they are married to an Orthodox Jew." That provision of the will was challenged, and it was upheld. But that's a slightly different question: marrying outside the faith versus requiring someone to be married in order to inherit. I think in New York your friend would be out of luck; but there are lots and lots and lots of small items to consider, not only because you're in a different state, but because there may be other ways for your friend to achieve a favorable result. A lawyer has to read the will very carefully to see exactly how it was worded. I am not admitted practice in Florida and this is not legal advice and I am not your friend's lawyer. Your friend must see a lawyer in her state without a doubt; there are time limitations too where she must act quickly.

Good luck.

Rick Bryan
New York, NY