A dying man declares 'my daughter should inherit my estate instead of my son.' Is this effective?
Inheritance is a Torah statute that cannot be changed. A father cannot disinherit a son in favor of a daughter by declaration — whether oral or written, healthy or dying.
Question 2
A father says 'I give this field to my son Reuven as a gift, and he shall inherit it.' Is this valid?
As long as gift language appears anywhere in the declaration — beginning, middle, or end — the transfer is valid even if inheritance language also appears. The gift language preserves the transaction.
Question 3
A man on his deathbed distributes his estate verbally, giving more to one son and less to another, without using 'inheritance language.' Is this valid?
When a dying person distributes his estate verbally using gift language (not inheritance language), his words are binding, even if unequal — and even if it equalizes the firstborn with his brothers.
Question 4
A Jewish man converts to Christianity. Can he still inherit from his Jewish family?
An apostate retains his legal inheritance rights under Jewish law. However, a court has the power to penalize him by withholding his inheritance so as not to strengthen him. If he has Jewish children, the inheritance goes to them.
Question 5
Can a convert inherit from his father who remained a gentile?
By Torah law, a convert does not inherit his gentile father. But the Sages ordained that he may inherit to prevent him from reverting to his old ways. A stipulation may override this Rabbinic rule since gentiles are not bound by Rabbinic ordinances.