据Cornell Law School对“slayer rule”的解释：

“In trusts and estates law, the slayer rule says that a murderer cannot retain a property interest in their victim’s estate. The slayer rule allows courts to presume the murderer disclaims their property interest, and therefore behave as though the murderer predeceased the victim. This has the effect of disqualifying the murderer from receiving property from the estate of the victim. 

The slayer rule applies only if the killing was felonious and intentional. The murderer is not required to be convicted of the crime, but if they are convicted of murder, the conviction establishes a conclusive presumption that the murderer did feloniously and intentionally kill the victim.”

根据此规则，杀人者出于恶意和故意杀害死者的，无论是否构成犯罪，不得保有死者遗产中的财产权益，法庭可推定杀人者放弃其财产权益，如同杀人者先于死者死亡，也就是说，杀人者无权获得死者的遗产。

比如，在加利福尼亚州，加利福尼亚州法典（California Code）中的《遗嘱检验法典》（Probate Code）第250节第(a)款规定如下：

“(a) A person who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent is not entitled to any of the following:

(1) Any property, interest, or benefit under a will of the decedent, or a trust created by or for the benefit of the decedent or in which the decedent has an interest, including any general or special power of appointment conferred by the will or trust on the killer and any nomination of the killer as executor, trustee, guardian, or conservator or custodian made by the will or trust.

(2) Any property of the decedent by intestate succession.

(3) Any of the decedent’s quasi-community property the killer would otherwise acquire under Section 101 or 102 upon the death of the decedent.

(4) Any property of the decedent under Division 5 (commencing with Section 5000).

(5) Any property of the decedent under Part 3 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 6.”

除了不能继承遗产外，杀人者还不能在债券、人身保险等方面以受益人身份享有相关收益，该法典第252节作出了如下规定：

“A named beneficiary of a bond, life insurance policy, or other contractual arrangement who feloniously and intentionally kills the principal obligee or the person upon whose life the policy is issued is not entitled to any benefit under the bond, policy, or other contractual arrangement, and it becomes payable as though the killer had predeceased the decedent.”