Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Wills

Usually the language in the Will covers this. There can be several choices, depending upon when the person died in relation to the decedent. For example, if the person died before the decedent, the Will can provide one of 2 ways: either the share of the deceased beneficiary passes to his heirs (usually the term does not include a spouse), or the person and the heirs are eliminated and only the survivors participate. It would take a reading of the Will language to make this determination. If the person survived the decedent, but died before the share was distributed, the share usually goes to his estate. However, some Will set a time limit on how long a person has to survive to inherit. Again, the Will language has to be reviewed. If you could get me a copy of the Will, I could read it and provide a better answer.

Re: Wills

The answer to your question really depends on the exact language of the Will. It's possible the gift would "lapse" if a beneficiary was deceased, but the gift may also pass to the deceased person's heirs under the NJ "anti-lapse" statute.