You drafted your estate plan years ago, but now you are doing an update and reviewing your decisions. Specifically, there is one child you initially included who has developed problematic spending habits. You are worried that they are just going to waste the inheritance or spend it on something you do not approve of, such as a drug habit, so you want to disinherit them.
You can do so, but it is important to make your intentions clear. Do not just delete them from your estate planning documents and assume that is good enough. You should still name that child directly and then leave explicit instructions stating that they should not receive any of your assets. This can prevent a will contest.
You are allowed to explain your reasoning if you want. However, there is no legal obligation to do so.
Are there any other options?
There are some other tactics you can use to address this issue without disinheriting them. For example, you could instead put the financial assets for that child into a trust. You can leave instructions for the trustee on how the funds are supposed to be used. This way, the actual beneficiary does not get to make the decisions.
You can instruct the trustee to disburse the money to pay for college tuition, start a business, buy a family home, cover medical expenses or any other use that you approve. Your child still receives an inheritance and can benefit from it greatly, but you also know that they cannot frivolously waste the money you are leaving to them.
No matter what you decide to do, just ensure that you know exactly what legal steps to take when drafting your estate plan. Having experienced legal guidance will help.