What Is A Disclaimer?

Qualified Disclaimers: A tool for when you would prefer not to accept an inheritance

A qualified disclaimer is a formal refusal to accept property or assets being distributed from an estate or trust. When a beneficiary disclaims (ie, refuses) an inheritance, it passes to another beneficiary as if the disclaiming person never had ownership of it in the first place. Under RCW 11.86.041(1), "[u]nless the instrument creating an interest directs to the contrary, the interest disclaimed shall pass as if the beneficiary had died immediately prior to the date of the transfer of the interest." The reasons a person may not want to receive an inheritance are varied and range from wanting to reduce their own taxable estate to just not wanting a specific problematic asset.