In the fact pattern where H's will in year one leaves everything to W if she survives him, and W later gives birth to twins Y and Z, which statement is most accurate across jurisdictions when H dies with the year-one will intact?

• A. W will take H's entire probate estate.
• B. Only Y and Z are pretermitted and will take an intestate share.
• C. All of X, Y, and Z are pretermitted and each will take an intestate share.
• D. Y and Z are pretermitted under any pretermitted child statute, and they may be entitled to a share.

Answer: (A)

The central idea is how pretermitted children are treated when a will makes a complete gift to a surviving spouse. A child born after the will is executed is potentially pretermitted, but that protection kicks in only if the omission isn’t intentional or unless a statute directs otherwise. Here, the will says that if W survives H, W takes everything. That language expresses a clear, intentional plan to leave the entire estate to the spouse, with no provision for post-born children. When H dies with the will intact, most jurisdictions treat that intentional bequest as controlling, so the surviving spouse takes the entire probate estate. Y and Z do not automatically receive a share unless a pretermitted-child statute overrides the testator’s clear intent, which is not assumed here across jurisdictions. Therefore the best answer is that W will take the entire probate estate.