A woman claimed that her father disowned her because she married a Jewish man.
An appellate panel has rejected a woman's bid to have her father's will declared invalid after she claimed he disowned her for marrying a Jewish man.
Stacy Marie Wolin argued that her father, Kenneth E. Jameson, of Haddonfield, wrote her out of his will because she married Marc Wolin.
After the Chancery Division dismissed her challenge to the will in 2014, she appealed the ruling.
Her parents were opposed to her dating Marc when they met in college in the 1980s, according to her claims in court documents. They eventually refused to let her return home and stopped paying for her college education.
Stacy and Marc later married and have three children. Her parents refused to meet their grandchildren, she stated in court documents.
Kenneth Jameson died in 2014, three years after his wife's death. In his will, he left his entire estate to Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of God Community Services, located in Gloucester County, "to be used by them for the special education and rehabilitation of the mentally and physically handicapped."
The Jamesons had another daughter who suffered from physical and learning disabilities and died at age 8.
His will states that, "[n]o part of [his] estate is at any time to be gifted, bequeathed, or devised to [his] daughter," according to the appellate ruling.
While Jameson described himself in the will as a loving and devoted parent, he accused his daughter of being selfish, manipulative, cruel and abusive, according to the ruling.
None of the quoted passages from the will included in the court ruling reference Jameson's alleged objection to his daughter's husband.
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In her appeal, Stacy Wolin offered four reasons the will was invalid, including that it was the product of undue influence from Stacy's mother; was based on religious discrimination; was libelous to Stacy and that it did not expresses a clear intent to disinherit his grandchildren.
The appellate judges rejected all four points, noting that discrimination is not grounds for invalidating a will under state law.
"Kenneth's alleged motivation for his disinheritance of Stacy does not permit or require the setting aside of his will," the judges wrote.
The judges found no grounds for the libel claim because the will is a part of judicial proceedings that are exempt from state libel law.
On the question of clear intent to disinherit his grandchildren, the court found nothing ambiguous in Jameson's wishes.
"The court correctly concluded that the will is not ambiguous and its failure to make reference to Stacy's children does not create an ambiguity requiring that the will be set aside," the appellate panel wrote.
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.