Slayer Statute Doctrine
The slayer statute doctrine prevents a person who feloniously and intentionally causes another person's death from inheriting from or receiving insurance or other death benefits tied to that death.
Nearly every state has adopted some version of a slayer statute, codifying the common-law principle that a person should not profit from intentionally killing another — the doctrine typically applies to inheritance under a will or through intestacy, beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts, and survivorship interests in jointly held property, treating the slayer as though they predeceased the victim for purposes of each of these transfers.
Application of the doctrine generally requires that the killing be both felonious and intentional; most slayer statutes do not apply to accidental deaths, deaths resulting from self-defense, or, in many states, deaths where the killer was found not criminally responsible due to insanity. A prior criminal conviction for the killing is typically conclusive proof triggering the statute, but a civil probate or insurance proceeding can independently determine slayer status under a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard even without a criminal conviction — including after an acquittal, since the civil and criminal burdens of proof differ.
Juricratic models slayer statute applicability as a largely binary structural gate rather than a soft probability dial once a conviction exists, but treats the question as a genuine contested-fact dial in the more common scenario where the doctrine is asserted civilly without a criminal conviction, reflecting the lower evidentiary burden that applies in that setting.
How it actually shows up
Probate and insurance litigators invoking a slayer statute in the absence of a criminal conviction build their case to the civil preponderance standard rather than waiting for or requiring a criminal outcome, since the civil determination is independent and can proceed even if criminal charges were never filed, dismissed, or resulted in acquittal.
- Does someone need to be criminally convicted for a slayer statute to apply?
- No — most states allow a civil probate or insurance proceeding to independently find slayer status under a lower preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, even without a criminal conviction.
- Does an accidental death trigger a slayer statute?
- No — slayer statutes generally require a felonious and intentional killing, so accidental deaths and, in most states, deaths involving legally recognized self-defense are excluded.
- What happens to the property a slayer would have inherited?
- The slayer is typically treated as having predeceased the victim, so the property passes as though the slayer did not exist, often to the next eligible heir or beneficiary.
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