Legal Definitions - statutory share

Statutory share is a legal term that refers to the amount of money or property that a spouse or other person is entitled to receive, regardless of what is written in a will. This means that even if a person's spouse leaves them out of their will, they may still be entitled to a portion of their estate.

For example, let's say that John and Jane are married, and John passes away. If John's will leaves everything to his children and nothing to Jane, Jane may still be entitled to a portion of John's estate under the statutory share laws in their state.

Each state has its own laws regarding statutory share, but they generally apply to spouses and sometimes children. The amount of the statutory share may be a specific dollar amount, a percentage of the estate, or based on the length of the marriage and the number of children the couple had together.

Statutory share laws are designed to protect spouses and children from being completely disinherited by their loved ones. However, they can also limit a person's ability to distribute their assets according to their wishes.