Q: Please can you advise? I am sole executor of my cousin’s Will. He died last year and getting probate is taking a while. The main beneficiary of his Will was his wife. When he died she was alive and well, but then she died suddenly from an unexpected heart attack a few weeks ago. I am not an executor of her Will. Will the inheritance she would have received from my cousin’s Will now become part of her estate, to be passed on in accordance with her Will?
A: Confusion in situations where a beneficiary survives the deceased but dies prior to receiving an inheritance is not unusual. The time between the two deaths is crucial in determining what happens and many Wills contain a survivorship clause stating that a beneficiary must survive the deceased by a specified length of time to inherit. This time is usually 28 days.
If a beneficiary only survives the deceased by a few days they may be treated as having died before the deceased and their gift will fail and they will receive nothing. If, however, the beneficiary survives the deceased by 28 days but dies prior to probate being granted and assets being distributed, then their share of the deceased’s estate passes to their own estate.
So, as long as the beneficiary fulfils any survivorship clause in the deceased’s Will or under intestacy, their inheritance will ultimately be distributed in accordance with their own Will. Where it can get complicated is if probate has not been granted to either deceased person. In this case the exact inheritance figure may not yet be known so will need to be estimated, though it can be corrected later.
When people are asked to be an executor for a friend or family member they generally feel obliged to agree without realising that complex situations like yours can arise. This is why more people are now using solicitors as executors.
This question has been answered by Paul Owen, a Solicitor with GHP Legal. If you would like to speak to someone about this or any other legal matter, please visit our website www.ghplegal.com and use the contact us form, or call us on: Wrexham 01978 291456, Llangollen 01978 860313, Oswestry 01691 659194
