Court Says ‘Jews Only’ Inheritance Clause OK

(CN) - A Jewish couple was within its right to disinherit its grandchildren who married outside their faith, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled.

Max and Erla Feinberg set up their estate so that any of their grandchildren who married someone who wasn't Jewish would be disinherited.

All five of their grandchildren were married between 1990 and 2001. Four of them married gentiles, and challenged their disinheritance, claiming wills can't dictate who a person marries.

The state Supreme Court in Springfield, Ill., rejected the challenge.

"Max and Erla were free to distribute their bounty as they saw fit and to favor grandchildren who made choices of which they approved," the opinion stated.

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