Sadly, Cissy Houston has recently died at the age of 91. She was the mother of the late Whitney Houston. Whitney herself had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, who also died before her grandmother at the age of just 22. In the natural course of events, people do not expect to survive their child, let alone their grandchild, but it is important to think about these worst-case scenarios when it comes to writing a will.
In our previous article ‘What Happens If a Beneficiary of a Will Dies?’, we considered the order of inheritance but I wanted to specifically cover what happens if a child dies before a parent, and what happens if a grandchild has also died.
What Happens if Someone Dies Without Leaving a Will?
A person is said to die ‘intestate’ when they do not leave a will. In these circumstances, rules in an Act of Parliament (the intestacy rules) set out who is to then benefit from their estate.
If the person dies without leaving a surviving spouse, then all their estate will be for their children in equal shares.
Read more: Do I Need to Make a Will? Why Bother? How to Stop Probate
Do Grandchildren Inherit a Parents’ Portion if the Parent is Deceased?
The intestacy rules set out what happens if a child of the deceased has died before them. If the child has left children of their own, then they will take their mother or father’s share.
However, relying on the intestacy rules leaves too much to chance. So, for this reason, it is always recommended to make a will. The will can clearly set out your wishes as to how you would want your estate to be divided, particularly, in the worst-case scenario of a child having died before you.
How Can You Cover a Child Predeceasing You in a Will?
Whilst it is simply not possible to cover every single eventuality, a well-drawn up will (preferably by a professional who specialises in this area) will cover as many different scenarios as possible. One of the main ones is what happens if a child dies before the parent.
Typically, a person will want to leave their estate to their child or children in the event of their spouse having died before them. They can also make provision in their will for what will happen in the event of their child having died before them.
Usually, they will want to leave the share of any child who has died before them to that child’s own children (and so the person’s grandchildren). This may not however always be the case. If say, for instance, there has been a relationship breakdown and the person does not have any contact with their grandchild, it may be that they do want to leave that grandchild a share of their estate.
They can make provision in their will for the share of a child who had died before them to go to people other than grandchildren. This could be, for instance, the person’s surviving children. It could also be for the surviving partner or spouse of the deceased child, but the estate would then be diverted away from family members.
If a person is happy for their grandchild to benefit, provision can be made in the will for them to receive their entitlement only on reaching a certain age.
If no condition is included in the will, then the grandchild would receive their entitlement on reaching the age of 18. Most people feel uncomfortable about the idea of an 18-year-old receiving what could be a large sum of money at a time when they may not be mature enough to look after it themselves and they could spend it unwisely. For this reason, people may prefer to delay the age at which the grandchild becomes entitled from 18 to 21 years old.
Can Step-Children and Grandchildren Inherit?
A person may wish to include step-grandchildren, as well as biological grandchildren. Step grandchildren do not fall within the legal definition of ‘descendants’ and so specific reference would need to be made to them in the will.
What Happens if a Child and Grandchild Predecease You?
The will can also cover what happens when a grandchild has also died before the deceased as has happened in the family of Cissy Houston.
Provision can be made for any grandchild who has predeceased to go to any children they may have (and so great grandchildren). However, it is not often that the person making the will has great grandchildren living at the time of their death. Therefore, they can say in the will that in the absence of any great grandchildren alive at their death that the deceased’s grandchildren’s share is to be divided between the other beneficiaries of the will.
Tackle the Tough Subjects with Howells
It’s often a difficult conversation to have with someone as to what is to happen in the event of their child dying before them and in the natural course of things, a child will outlive their parent. It is important, however, for people to think carefully about what they would want to happen in these worst-case scenarios and for a professionally drawn up will to reflect their wishes.
If you would like to learn more about writing a will and how our friendly and knowledgeable team can support you, please get in touch.
