what happens when the beneficiary of a will has died?

[whatdoyoucallthat]

The situation is:

Person A made a Will a long time ago. Named own parents as beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, Person A had children with partner, did not marry, did not update Will.
Parents (the beneficiaries) died, Person A still did not update Will.
Person A has now died, having still not updated their Will.

Who is now the beneficiary? Do the assets go back into the estate pot and then to Person A's next of kin (ie children?) or do the assets go to the children of the now deceased beneficiaries?

I think generally if you leave to someone and they die, it goes back into the estate as a failed gift and whoever gets "the residue" gets it. If no one listed, then they are intestate and it goes to next of kin.

But it changes if left to your own kids and they die, then it goes down to their kids.

That's England, Scotland may be different and I may have misremembered it, will google now

I’d depends if they did before or after (Scotland.) my husbands gran died and his father inherited, them he died before the grans estate was settled so it was added to the fathers and spilt between his children.

If the parents died first I think the will is void and it goes to the next of kin in the circumstances you describe. I’m not totally sure though sorry.

I dint actually know so just surmising, but if the beneficiaries are now dead surely that will is now void? Therefore the estate will go to the dead persons children as they will be his next of kin?

So there are no named beneficiaries left?

If all the beneficiaries are dead then yes will fails and it follows intestacy rules.

So 50/50 ti mum and dad would fail

But my house to mum and dad and rest to cats home would mean cats home gets it all as the house gift fails and falls to whoever gets "the remainder"
However if there were kids who had been forgotten, you can challenge the will under the inheritance laws about dependents (as can the partner if also dependent )

Thanks. This is in England.

It makes sense to me that the assets would go to Person A's children. But I got myself tied in a giant knot reading a really complicated paragraph that came from a Google search and that suggested it might go to dead beneficiaries' next of kin. Which didn't seem fair.

It can’t be willed inwards if it hasn’t been received

It’s not been received so will go to the other negotiators ie the kids IMO

It would only go onto the beneficiaries next of kin if

They died just after the will maker so passes to their estate (ignoring husband /wife survivorship rules if both pass in one accident)

Or

The will is written to make it clear it's go to x and y or if deceased before me, onto their kids. Which you may do or leaving to a sibling and if they die before you, it can go to their kids. I'd write mine like that, to mean I don't have to keep updating my will over the years.

In my Uncles will he named my Grandmother as the the primary beneficiary, he also put a clause in saying that If she had already died that I inherited instead. If he had not done this it would have gone to his next of kin. (Another family Member).