Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida
I know �Per Stirpes� passes the inheritance to the descendants of the name beneficiaries, but does their spouse get anything? I made up a situation below that might illustrate my questions.
If Mary put her 3 sons (Al, Bob and Chris) as primary beneficiaries and uses the Per Stirpes designation, does Mary�s daughter-in-law (Bob�s wife) get anything if Bob passes away before Mary OR does it all go to Bob�s kids? Who controls the money for Bob�s kids if they are minors and are what are the basic rules or restrictions on the money? On the other hand, what happens if Bob�s kids are adults?
I was thinking (I know that could be bad) it might be better to list all sons and daughter-in-laws are primary beneficiaries with the Per Stirpes? Then if a Bob passes away, his wife would get her share (1/6) and the kids would split Bob�s share (1/6).
2 Answers from Attorneys
The "made up scenario" is more complicated than your question implies.
If this is a real concern of yours related to your estate planning you should consult directly with an Estate Planning lawyer, as there are many things to consider beyond what you have presented here. Some of what happens is a function of law and some is function of the wishes of the deceased. There are pros and cons related to every option and from an estate planning standpoint, what you were "thinking" could be riddled with problems.
If this is an attempt to assist you with a class assignment it may be best that you seek counsel from another forum. Lawguru discourages the use of this forum to aid in answering questions related to class assignments.
Per stirpes is equal shares by right of representation and it presumes that the inheritance goes down that branch of the heir if the heir predeceases the testator or testatrix. The spouse is not considered generally in per stirpes distribution. It is way more complicated than that and use of those terms ceased many years ago and plain English has been used since. Seek legal guidance if this is a real life situation. If not, than I echo Mr. Gwaltney's comments above.
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