Validity of Will Equalizing Firstborn and Granting Portions to Wife and Daughter

From: Rabbi Moshe Sofer

To: Rabbi Yisrael

Description

A will dividing an estate into five equal parts — including for the firstborn, daughter, and wife — raised concerns about stipulating against Torah inheritance laws. The Chasam Sofer rules the will is unequivocally valid, demonstrating through multiple independent arguments that the term 'maniach' constitutes gift language and not inheritance language, and that the explicit gift terms 'yutan' and 'yechulek' further secure the will's validity.

Source: Shu"t Chasam Sofer CM §145

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