Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida
2 beneficiaries and one dies before estate closing
My wife's Grand Mother passed away leaving her estate to be divided between my wife's Mother and Uncle. The Uncle has passed away, about 2 months after the Grand Mother, and prior to the Grand Mother's estate closing. Now all proceeds will all go to my wife's Mother, but the Attorneys handling the estate have stated that they will now need to open an estate for the deceased Uncle and then close that estate prior to distrubiting all proceeds to my Mother-in-law. Is this correct? There is much more than 10K involved in what the Uncle would have gotten and the Grand Mothers estate is still not closed. Should it not all just go to my Mother-in-law, with no estae opened for the deceased Uncle?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: 2 beneficiaries and one dies before estate closing
No, the Uncle's heirs are entitled to his share.
Re: 2 beneficiaries and one dies before estate closing
Remarkably, I am once more forced to agree with one of Mr. Slater's answers. Unless your wife's grandmother's will required the uncle to live for a specified length of time after her death in order to inherit, his estate is entitled to his share.