My uncle asked the family a question about his will. Any help would be appreciated.

[Ddy204]

My uncle has no spouse, no children and no grandchildren and his parents have already passed away. In his will he has left 3 monetary bequests to friends and then the residue of his estate to go to his sister - my mum (she is the sole named beneficiary of the residue). If my mum dies before my uncle, does the residue go to the friends that he has made bequests to, or does it follow the rules of intestacy? My uncle basically wanted to know if the residue would go to me and my sister or to the 3 friends with specific bequests. Also in this scenario, if the residue did go to my sister & I, would his 3 friends still receive their bequests first (assuming there was at least enough in the estate to cover the bequests). Thanks for any help.

What does it say on the will?

Mine says something along the lines of when I die everything goes to my partner but if my partner predeceased me then all my estate will then be distributed between my children.

afaik, the friends with specific bequests get the amount specified first, the rest would go to you mum. if your mum is no longer around then it would go to her next of kin (so you and your sister), you would share what your mum would have got. this would have no effect on the specific bequests to friends.

Depends on the words of the will. They often say "to X or their issue if X predeceases me". However, even if it doesn't say that,if your DM is his nearest living relative, and she dies before him so the residual bequest fails then it would pass according to the laws of intestacy - which would mean it coming to you and your siblings anyway.

However it's a bit better for him to spell it out explicitly if that's what he wants.

Thank you all for your help

Your uncle can specify whatever he likes. He can specify that in the case of your mum predeceasing him, that money would go to X, or X and Y, or X, Y and Z.

It's just a question of making his wishes absolutely clear, and allowing for possible eventualities.

I believe your uncle can get a Codicil done in which he could specify, without having to get a new will from scratch.

However it's a bit better for him to spell it out explicitly if that's what he wants.

I would say it was essential to do that, to avoid argument/recrimination etc. downstream.

A well written will should always specify what happens if any named person predeceases the testator