Woman Who Was Cut Out of Dad’s Will for Marrying a Jew Loses Appeal
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— A woman who alleged her father disinherited her for marrying a Jewish man lost her appeal in a New Jersey court.
The father’s “alleged discriminatory motive does not provide a basis to set aside the will,” the state appeals court ruled Friday in upholding a lower-court decision, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Stacy Wolin had argued, along with her daughters, that the will left by her father, Kenneth Jameson, was invalid because it was the “product of religious discrimination.”
After Wolin began dating Marc Wolin in college, her parents allegedly “forbade her from talking, socializing, and having any contact with him because he was Jewish,” according to the ruling. Jameson allegedly told Marc Wolin that he and his wife “would not attend the wedding because they would never endorse their daughter marrying a Jew.”
Jameson, who died in 2014 at 81, left his estate to a nonprofit that serves people with developmental disabilities, according to The Associated Press.
In its opinion, the appeals court cited a 19th-century judicial precedent that held courts must uphold a will even if it is “contrary to the principles of justice and humanity” and is “shockingly unnatural and extremely unfair.”
Wolin also argued that the will should be set aside because it contained libelous criticisms of her. But the libel claim was barred by the “litigation privilege,” which protects statements made in connection with judicial proceedings, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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