Executors query

I will be very shortly making a Personal application to obtain Grant of Probate in relation to a will whereby i am named Executor. It is a relatively straight forward estate, no property, no chattels, just consists of 3 bank accounts. The estate is to be divided equally to the 6 named children. One of the children is deceased, question is, do I discharge his share to his spouse in its entirety , or to his spouse (2/3) and children (1/3).

Advice is most welcome.


Yours

Secman

Depends on
a. the wording of the will you are proving and
b. maybe also on whether the deceased child left a will

I imagine the probate office will give you guidance

I could stand corrected on this, but my understanding is that it depends on when the deceased child passed away.


If they passed away after the parent - I believe they recieve their share, which would probably be passed onto the executor of that estate to disperse according to their will
If they passed away PRIOR to the parent : I don't believe their spouse inherites anything

Sam - if the child died after the parent, then the share would be passed to their estate, as you suggest.

If before - it really does depend on the wording in the will. Many wills include a "per stirpes" clause that states if any child predeceases the parent who's making the will, then the grandchild(ren) take that child's share.

Death of a named beneficiary under a will, prior to the deceased dying, can mean the gift lapses - but death of a child is the exception to this - I don't have the rules in front of me, but I think (?) if there is no "per stirpes" clause, then the gift passes into the childs estate.

Thanks for the replies, it was a very simple style will insofar as it did not make any provision or mention of " if one of the children pre deceased the parent ". It just stated that the estate be equally divided between the 6 children, all of whom were specifically named in the will. No mention of any other clause or addendum or "per stripes" clause.



Secman

look at sec 98 of the succession act, covers this situation

Section 98 of the Succession Act is the relevant document.

See http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1965/en/act/pub/0027/sec0098.html


To answer your original question ... the surviving spouse of the deceased beneficiary has no entitlements. If there are no children, she/he does not inherit anything automatically. However Section 98 only applies in the event of a parent leaving an inheritance to his/her children. It does not apply in the event of an aunt/uncle.

Also if the children are minors then you need to look at how you set up their inheritance in trust for them.

Bar1

thank you for your time to reply, just to clarify the situation,

last parent
_______________________________________________
child A child B child C child D child E child F

None of the children are minors, child B pre deceased the last parent, the Estate was to be divided equally between the 6 children, on the death of the last parent, NO provision made for a child pre deceasing the last parent. Question is, how the estate is now divided. is it now 5 ways or does the spouse or children of the deceased child still qualify.

By the way, just to put it on record , I am not a beneficiary of the will, I am simply trying to execute the will to the letter of the law.


Thanking you

secman

If Child B has a child, (ie grandchildren of the testator) then the gift is "saved" it is then distributed according to child b's will

I wouldn't rely on the answers here. Make an appt with a probate officer and see if they can help. I have no idea if they do give advice in a personal application but I think they are a better bet than relying on anonymous opinions on the internet.

secman said:

Bar1

thank you for your time to reply, just to clarify the situation,

last parent
_______________________________________________
child A child B child C child D child E child F

None of the children are minors, child B pre deceased the last parent, the Estate was to be divided equally between the 6 children, on the death of the last parent, NO provision made for a child pre deceasing the last parent. Question is, how the estate is now divided. is it now 5 ways or does the spouse or children of the deceased child still qualify.

secman

Click to expand...

Where there is no specific clause in the will covering the death of a beneficiary, then Section 98 kicks in. To clarify Section 98.....

If Child B has NO children then the gift "lapses" and the proceeds will be distributed between the other 5 children. If Child B was married (with no children) then the spouse does not inherit.

If Child B has children then it becomes part of the estate of Child B.

Thanks again for all of the replies, much appreciated.

Secman