Will beneficiary question

Annieg123

Hi, Looking for some advice on a will and Probate.

If a person is left money in a will but has passed away when the will becomes effective ( person who wrote the will died after the beneficiary) Can the children and grandchildren of the beneficiary receive the inheritance.

I am helping someone whose grandmother as left £500 in a will but passed away before the person died. The estate is now sitting in unclaimed estates.
I spoke bona Vacantia government deaprtment and they are saying as he is a 2nd cousin he is not entitled but im confused as to why as a direct blood relative they cant claim that way.

I know when my grandmother passed away with no will the money was divided between her five children but my mum had passed away so her share was divided between my self and two sisters. Hope this makes sense because its giving me a headache just trying to explain it!

Keep_pedalling

A 2nd cousin is not a direct descendant so cannot be the beneficiary of a bequest left to their late parent unless the will had a clause in it saying they would inherit if their parent died. If they were a grandchild they would.

In this case the bequest fails and should go to whoever is the residual beneficiary, but it sounds like there is no benificiary and the estate is effectively intestate, so if this 2nd cousin is the deceased persons nearest relative they should inherit the whole estate alone with any other 2nd cousins.

getmore4less

Depends on

The wording of the will
The beneficiary and their relation to the deceased.


you need to build the family tree and look at the order of those entitled to administer starting with the named executors and work through the named residual beneficiaries then the intestate order.

Annieg123

this is the response from the department-

'If all the beneficiaries in a Will have pre-deceased the testator then the Will becomes invalid and the estate is intestate, descendants of beneficiaries are not entitled, it then falls to entitled blood relatives to claim the estate, your family tree showed only 2nd cousins.'

my experience The Bona Vacantia department has been awful, really unhelpful and have given me incorrect information in a previous issue so im not filled with confidence

Mojisola

Annieg123 wrote: »

If a person is left money in a will but has passed away when the will becomes effective ( person who wrote the will died after the beneficiary) Can the children and grandchildren of the beneficiary receive the inheritance.

Usually, yes, depending on the exact wording of the will.

I spoke bona Vacantia government deaprtment and they are saying as he is a 2nd cousin he is not entitled but im confused as to why as a direct blood relative they cant claim that way.

Because a 2nd cousin isn't in the direct blood line.

I know when my grandmother passed away with no will the money was divided between her five children but my mum had passed away so her share was divided between my self and two sisters.

Look again at the family tree - an inheritance only goes down the direct blood line - child, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc, not to cousins.

Annieg123

2nd cousin to the person who died but grandson to the beneficiary of the will.

Mojisola

Annieg123 wrote: »

2nd cousin to the person who died but grandson to the beneficiary of the will.

That doesn't matter - the law sending money down the blood line only applies to direct descendants of the deceased.

Annieg123

Ok thank. you

seems wrong dosent it, when there are living descendants to the beneficiary but the law is the law!

getmore4less

if the deceased wanted that to happen they could have put it inthe will(per stirpes).

getmore4less

Annieg123 wrote: »

this is the response from the department-

'If all the beneficiaries in a Will have pre-deceased the testator then the Will becomes invalid and the estate is intestate, descendants of beneficiaries are not entitled, it then falls to entitled blood relatives to claim the estate, your family tree showed only 2nd cousins.'

my experience The Bona Vacantia department has been awful, really unhelpful and have given me incorrect information in a previous issue so im not filled with confidence

That is wrong

The will remains valid any failed legacies drop to the residual beneficiaries which maybe by intestate rules if none of the named residuals are alive or have qualifying issue.