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If the beneficiary of a will has died does the money get divided between the other named recipients or pass to their next of kin.
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It fails unless the beneficiary is a child ,or other direct descendant ,of the testator who himself leaves a direct descendant surviving at the time of the testator's death. So, if A leaves a gift to his child the gift lapses if the child predeceases him. However, if that child himself had a child who survived the testator( the testator's grandchild), then that grandchild would inherit the gift.
If a gift fails then it falls into the residue of the estate.
If a gift fails then it falls into the residue of the estate.
That's an excellent answer from Fred. Of course, those provisions only apply if there was no alternative provision stated in the will. (My own will is full of clauses which start "If X should pre-decease me . . .")
I used to be the MD of a will-drafting company. Clients were always asked to state what should happen if a named beneficiary die before them. Most clients also accepted the option to include a 'survivorship clause', stating that a beneficiary must survive them for a certain period in order to inherit, with a further clause stating what should happen if the conditions of the survivorship clause were not met. (A survivorship clause can be useful if, say, the testator and a beneficiary are involved in the same car crash and the beneficiary dies a few hours after the testator. Things are considerably simplified with such a clause).
Chris
I used to be the MD of a will-drafting company. Clients were always asked to state what should happen if a named beneficiary die before them. Most clients also accepted the option to include a 'survivorship clause', stating that a beneficiary must survive them for a certain period in order to inherit, with a further clause stating what should happen if the conditions of the survivorship clause were not met. (A survivorship clause can be useful if, say, the testator and a beneficiary are involved in the same car crash and the beneficiary dies a few hours after the testator. Things are considerably simplified with such a clause).
Chris
Just for the perfectionist: There is one exception to the law that only the direct descendant of the beneficiary can claim.It's where the gift was made under " moral obligation."I didn't mention it before, since it is of such rare application, but if Buenchico is going to call my reply excellent I'd best perfect it :)
The law held, a long time ago, that some gifts were made by the testator because the testator felt morally obliged. Contemplating meeting his Maker, a testator might well meet his moral obligations by his will. So , for example, he might have avoided a debt because the creditor was out of time, or he might have secretly done some harm to a person's property or business, and now feel guilty and wish to make amends.The law was long ago established that such a proven sole motive means that the gift (" gift of moral obligation" )will not lapse if the beneficiary predeceases the testator but will pass to his descendant(s) surviving, regardless of any blood relationship between the beneficiary and the testator.
The law held, a long time ago, that some gifts were made by the testator because the testator felt morally obliged. Contemplating meeting his Maker, a testator might well meet his moral obligations by his will. So , for example, he might have avoided a debt because the creditor was out of time, or he might have secretly done some harm to a person's property or business, and now feel guilty and wish to make amends.The law was long ago established that such a proven sole motive means that the gift (" gift of moral obligation" )will not lapse if the beneficiary predeceases the testator but will pass to his descendant(s) surviving, regardless of any blood relationship between the beneficiary and the testator.
Thanks fredpuli47 and buenchio, but just to be perfectly clear.If all the immediate family travelling together don`t survive a plane crash for example and the will states the brothers and sisters inherit but one has died say a year before will thechildren of that person inherit or will the other brothers and sisters get a greater share.Thanks for your help.
Thanks for the reply.
As Fred stated, part of an estate will only go to a deceased beneficiary's children if that beneficiary was a child (or grandchild) of the testator. In the circumstances you describe, where a named beneficiary is the deceased brother or sister of the testator, his or her share of the estate does not go to his/her children. It is added to the residue of the estate, to be shared between the surviving beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of the will.
As I stated, the testator can over-ride those provisions by specifying what should happen if a person he has named as a beneficiary dies before him. For example (after the parts of the will that deal with settling bills, paying funeral expenses and authorising the executors to convert property to cash), a testator might write this:
"I leave one third of my residual estate to my brother, John Arthur Bloggs, of 23 Acacia Avenue, Sometown, in the county of Essex. Should the said John Arthur Bloggs pre-decease me or fail to survive me for a period exceeding three calendar months, this part of my residual estate shall be divided equally between those persons who are the legitimate issue of the said John Arthur Bloggs or lawfully adopted by him".
Chris
As Fred stated, part of an estate will only go to a deceased beneficiary's children if that beneficiary was a child (or grandchild) of the testator. In the circumstances you describe, where a named beneficiary is the deceased brother or sister of the testator, his or her share of the estate does not go to his/her children. It is added to the residue of the estate, to be shared between the surviving beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of the will.
As I stated, the testator can over-ride those provisions by specifying what should happen if a person he has named as a beneficiary dies before him. For example (after the parts of the will that deal with settling bills, paying funeral expenses and authorising the executors to convert property to cash), a testator might write this:
"I leave one third of my residual estate to my brother, John Arthur Bloggs, of 23 Acacia Avenue, Sometown, in the county of Essex. Should the said John Arthur Bloggs pre-decease me or fail to survive me for a period exceeding three calendar months, this part of my residual estate shall be divided equally between those persons who are the legitimate issue of the said John Arthur Bloggs or lawfully adopted by him".
Chris
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