To officially remove someone from a will or legal inheritance, so they receive no money or property when you die.
From dis- (opposite of) + inherit (to receive property from a parent). The prefix dis- was used in Middle English to negate or reverse the action of the root word, creating the legal opposite of inheriting.
Disinheriting is a dramatic legal power that appears constantly in stories and films because it represents the ultimate family conflict—parents literally writing their children out of their lives forever. It's so powerful that many legal systems actually restrict when parents can do it, recognizing that cutting someone out of a will reveals something deep about family relationships.
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