The word for today is “lapse.” If a Testator gives something to someone (the beneficiary) in his will, what happens if the beneficiary dies before the Testator?
The general rule is that if the beneficiary is a descendant of the Testator, i.e. his children or grand children, the gift goes to the beneficiary’s descendants. The same would be true if the beneficiary is a descendant of the Testator‘s parents.
If the beneficiary is not a descendant of the Testator or of the Testator‘s parents, the gift lapses and goes to the person named as the residuary beneficiary. The residuary beneficiary is the person who the Testator names as the person who gets “all the rest and residue of my estate.”
If the residuary beneficiary dies before the Testator and is not a descendant of the Testator or of the Testator‘s parents, the gift lapses and the Testator dies intestate as to the property that would be in the residuary estate. It would then go to the Testator‘s heirs at law.
what if the beneficiary of the trust (who died before the testator) had no direct descendents? Remaining kin of the beneficiary of the trust are several aunts and uncles – 3 are siblings of the testator and 1 is sibling of the testator’s deceased wife who was beneficiary’s mother who also predeceased the testator after the trust beneficiary died but before the testator?
Is that true in a TX will? One of my sister-in-law’s beneficiaries of specific benefit has died. Does she need to change the will or will it go to the residual beneficiaries automatically?
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Hello – My grandmother passed away a day after my father. In her will she left half of her estate to him and the other half to my aunt, his sister. I know that my dad’s 1/2 would go to my and my sister as we are his decendents. However, are my grandmother’s bank accounts part of the estate? My aunt is a co-signer on the accounts does she automatically get the funds in the account or are the accounts part of the estate?
Thank you -
Kim
Kim, is this a Texas case? Our main website has a contact page where you can ask questions about Texas inheritance issues.