Planning for the Death of a Beneficiary Before Probate Ends

Although probate court can be quick, it is still a legal proceeding, and because of that, there is really no way to predict how short or long your probate case will take. Obviously, cases with more complex assets, or with beneficiaries who may be fighting, the case will tend to skew towards the longer end of the time frame.

But with extended probate cases, comes the possibility that a beneficiary — someone who was supposed to inherit property through a will-might pass way, while the probate case is pending, and thus, before the beneficiary can inherit whatever it is that he or she was supposed to inherit. What happens then?

Look for a Survivor Clause

Some wills may have what is called a survivor clause, which requires that a beneficiary survive the deceased by a certain period of time, often between 60 or 90 days, in order to inherit. Wills with this clause may name a backup beneficiary, so you can just look to the will and see who that backup may be.

If There is no Survivor Clause

But there may not be such a clause — or the beneficiary may have outlived the set timeline in the will, but died shortly after, and while the probate case was still pending.

In that case, the property left to the now-deceased beneficiary, will pass to that beneficiary’s beneficiary. In other words, it’s treated the same way as if the beneficiary had died years in the future, after fully inheriting — we would look to the deceased’s beneficiary’s will (or if there is no will, to Florida intestate statutes) to see who inherits that now-deceased beneficiary’s property.

This may result in a second probate case needing to be opened for the now-deceased beneficiary, and thus, the property will be subject to two separate probate cases — the deceased’s case, and the now-deceased beneficiary’s own probate case.

Backup Beneficiaries

Some wills may also designate backup beneficiaries, even without any type of survival clause or requirement. In that case, the property would not be probated through the now-deceased beneficiary’s probate case or designated heirs, but rather, would simply be inherited by and through the backup designated beneficiary.

Death While the Will Maker is Still Alive

Of course, the situation is different if the beneficiary dies, while the person who made the will is still alive. In that case, there would be no active probate case because the person with the will is alive. What that should be, is a trigger for the person who made the will, to amend or edit or alter their estate documents, to reflect the passing of the beneficiary.

The death of a beneficiary can be an unexpected event that people who create wills, don’t necessarily plan for — especially if they do it themselves, without the assistance of a probate or estate law attorney. Don’t be one of those people; plan ahead with your estate and probate attorney today. Call the West Palm Beach probate lawyers at The Law Offices of Larry E. Bray today for help with your probate law issue, or to try to avoid probate court through good estate planning.

Sources:

privatebank.bankofamerica.com/financial-education/estate-beneficiaries.html

investopedia.com/terms/p/probate.asp