ALBANY, N.Y. – A new proposal before the New York State Assembly would prevent anyone convicted of a sex offense from receiving an inheritance from their victim’s estate, closing what lawmakers describe as a long-standing loophole in state law.
Assembly Bill 48, sponsored by Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Pulaski), would amend the state’s Estates, Powers and Trusts Law to add a new Section 4-1.7, disqualifying any person convicted of committing or attempting to commit a sexual offense under Article 130 of the Penal Law when the victim was the deceased. The legislation was prefiled for the 2025–2026 legislative session and referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
Under the bill, a convicted offender would be treated as if they had predeceased the victim for purposes of inheritance, preventing them from receiving a “distributive share” of the victim’s estate when no will exists. The measure applies to cases of intestacy—where a person dies without a will—and ensures that offenders cannot benefit financially from those they harmed.
“Currently, a sex offender is eligible to inherit, by intestacy, from the victim they have been convicted of abusing,” Barclay wrote in the bill’s justification. “This legislation would guarantee that sexual offenders would never inherit from their victim who dies without a will.”
The proposal mirrors existing provisions that bar individuals convicted of killing another person from inheriting from their victim’s estate. Proponents say the bill is a commonsense extension of that legal principle to cases involving sexual offenses resulting in the victim’s death.
The measure has broad Republican support, with several co-sponsors including Assemblymembers Ken Blankenbush, Steve Hawley, Chris Tague, Brian Manktelow, Jeff Gallahan, John Lemondes, and Karl Brabenec. It has also been introduced in multiple previous sessions but has not advanced beyond committee consideration.
The bill carries no fiscal impact and would take effect on January 1 following its enactment.
New York lawmakers push to close inheritance loophole allowing convicted sex offenders to benefit from their victims’ estates.
