Tennessee’s Slayer Rule Explained: Can a Killer Inherit?

The law should not reward a person for a wrongful act. That simple idea sits at the heart of Tennessee’s slayer rule, which blocks someone who kills from collecting from the victim’s estate or insurance.

At Foust & Foust, PLLC, we help families with estate planning, probate, and trust administration across Tennessee. We have handled probate disputes that turn on tough facts, and we know how heavy these cases feel for a grieving family.

In this article, we walk through how the Tennessee slayer statute works, what counts as a felonious and intentional killing, and which assets get cut off. Our goal is to give you clear steps to protect a loved one’s estate and rights.

What Is the Slayer Rule in Estate Law?

The core idea is simple: a wrongdoer cannot profit from a crime they committed. If a person feloniously and intentionally kills another, the law treats them as if they never had a right to inherit from that victim.

These cases run through civil court, not just criminal court. Civil judges apply a preponderance of the evidence standard, meaning more likely than not, so the rule can apply even if the person was acquitted in a criminal trial.

If there is a criminal conviction for a felonious and intentional killing, that conviction serves as conclusive proof in the civil case. The court does not retry the facts; it simply applies the bar on inheritance.

To make the rule easier to picture, think of it as a set of automatic stops that cut off financial gain tied to death.

• No inheritance through a will or through intestacy rights.
• No collection on non-probate beneficiary designations connected to the victim.
• No right of survivorship on jointly held assets tied to the victim’s death.

Each stop protects the victim’s estate and redirects assets to the next lawful recipient. The details vary by asset type, which we cover below.

How Tennessee Law Addresses Felonious and Intentional Killings

Tennessee’s revised statute gives clear guidance on what conduct triggers the rule. The focus is on a felonious and intentional killing, proven in court or shown through the record.

The Scope of the Revised Statute

Felonious and intentional means a killing that is both unlawful and deliberate. The law also reaches people who plan the killing, conspire with others, or procure someone else to do it.

The modern statute closes old loopholes that might have let a killer slip through indirect channels. That includes blocking payouts through a trust, a power of appointment, or a contract that depends on the victim’s death.

Conduct that can trigger the rule often falls into a few categories.

1. Direct intentional killing by the heir or beneficiary.
2. Conspiracy or agreement to kill the victim.
3. Hiring or pressuring another person to carry out the killing.

Courts review the facts closely, then apply the standard to the evidence in the record. The label in a charging document does not control the civil result.

Accidents and Self-Defense

Not every death linked to another person blocks inheritance. Accidents, negligence, or justified self-defense generally do not meet the standard for a felonious and intentional killing.

Older versions of the law spelled out exemptions for accidents and self-defense. The current wording looks first to whether the act was felonious and intentional, which naturally excludes accidents and lawful self-defense.

Edge cases can arise, such as reckless acts that are criminal but not intentional. In those cases, the court studies the proof and decides whether the high bar for intent is met.

Which Assets and Rights Are Forfeited Under the Rule?

The slayer rule reaches both probate and non-probate paths to money. It also blocks a wrongdoer from steering the estate as a fiduciary.

Inheritance and Statutory Allowances

In probate, the killer loses all financial benefits that flow from the victim’s death. That loss is broad and touches multiple rights that spouses and children usually hold.

• Intestate share if the victim died without a will.
• Gifts under a will, including residuary gifts and bequests.
• Shares for an omitted spouse or omitted child, where a later marriage or birth was not addressed in the will.
• Spousal allowances, including elective share, year’s support, exempt personal property, and homestead rights.

Courts do not pick and choose among these benefits. The bar applies across the board once the standard is met.

Non-Probate Assets and Fiduciary Roles

Money does not only pass through court-supervised probate. Tennessee’s statute also cuts off routes that run by contract or through a trust.

1. No right to take as a beneficiary of life insurance, annuities, or transfer-on-death accounts tied to the victim.
2. No right to receive from a revocable trust created by the victim.
3. No right to claim under a power of appointment that depends on the victim’s death.
4. No ability to serve as executor, personal representative, guardian, or trustee of the victim’s revocable trust.

These guardrails remove both the money flow and the control that could be used to influence distributions. Families get a neutral path forward.

Severance of Jointly Held Property

Joint ownership often gives a survivor the entire asset at death. The slayer rule blocks that windfall and reshapes the title.

When the asset is real estate held as tenants by the entirety or as joint tenants with a right of survivorship, the law severs the form of title. What remains is a tenancy in common, which removes survivorship and protects the victim’s share for the estate.

Effect on Jointly Held Property in Tennessee Slayer Cases

Title changes like these prevent an instant transfer that would reward the wrongdoer. The estate steps into the victim’s shoes and can sell or distribute the protected share under normal probate rules.

What Happens to the Victim’s Property?

Once the slayer rule applies, the killer is treated as though they died first or as if they signed a full disclaimer. That legal fiction sends the assets to alternate beneficiaries or to the next heirs under Tennessee’s intestacy laws.

Good-faith actors are protected. A bank that pays out without notice of the forfeiture, or a buyer who purchases from the killer without knowledge of the facts, can be shielded from later claims, while the estate pursues recovery from the wrongdoer directly.

Here are common rerouting paths that families often see after the rule is triggered.

• Life insurance pays to the contingent beneficiary, or if none, to the estate.
• Trust distributions skip the slayer and pass to the next eligible taker named in the document.
• Probate gifts pass as if the slayer predeceased, which often means to children or other named alternates.

If an instrument lacks a backup plan, the share usually falls into the residuary of the estate or passes under intestacy. A careful review of each document helps map the next step with confidence.

Facing Complex Probate Disputes? Contact Foust & Foust, PLLC

We handle contested inheritances with care and clear communication, and we take pride in steady guidance during hard times. 

If your family is dealing with a slayer-rule question or a tangled estate that needs prompt attention, reach out and let us help build a clean path forward. 

Call 865-203-4041, email contact@foustlaw.com, or visit our contact page to start the conversation. We welcome your questions, and we are ready to step in quickly.