To disinherit someone means to officially decide that they will not receive any of your money or property after you die. When parents disinherit a child, they remove that person from their will, the legal document that says who gets what when someone passes away.

This is a serious and usually permanent decision. In stories and history, people were sometimes disinherited because they married someone their family disapproved of, chose an unexpected career path, or had a major falling out with their parents. In classic novels like Great Expectations, the threat of being disinherited creates dramatic tension because it could mean losing not just wealth, but social standing and security.

While this might sound like something that only happens in old novels about wealthy families, it still occurs today when relationships break down severely. The legal process usually requires explicitly stating in a will that someone is being disinherited, since many places assume parents want to leave things to their children unless it’s clearly stated otherwise.