A will leaves the testatrix’s estate to her 'three siblings and if more than one in equal shares, provided that if any of them shall die before me leaving issue who survive me then such issue shall take by substitution such failed share and if more than one they shall take in equal shares per stirpes but so that no issue shall take whose parent is alive and so capable of taking’ some of the children of the siblings (the deceased’s nieces) have predeceased her and I assume that their share will pass to their children being the deceased’s grandnieces and grandnephews is this correct? Or does the estate stop at the children of the deceased siblings (nieces only)?
thanks
I would have thought that if a sibling dies before the testator and one of the siblings own children also dies before the testator that child does not inherit.
Three siblings, say, S1, S2 and S3 of the testator (T).
S2 and S3 survive T and thus each inherit.
Malcolm Finney
S1 dies before T and has two children, C1 and C2. C1 survives T and thus inherits. C2, however, dies before T and inherits nothing.
Thus, none of C2’s children inherit.
Christina
I fear that Malcolm has over-simplified matters.
This is [or was] fairly standard terminology, the essentials being that “issue” includes children, grandchildren etc etc, whilst “per stirpes” or “per capita” simply governed how the available “pot” should be shared between the beneficiaries when identified.
So in Malcolm’s example, C2’s children who survive the testatrix are entitled to C2’s share [which in that example would be one-sixth of the estate; i.e. half of S1’s share].
If it helps to clarify matters, the additional apparent “verbage” is simply there to confirm that if (say) C1 also had children living at the date of death then they [despite being “issue”] are not also entitled to take a share.
Having re-read Christina’s original post, the specific answer is that the estate continues to be divided between the grandnieces and grandnephews living at the death - and/or the descendants of any such who predeceased …
1 Like
Thank you that is helpful