My mother left a beneficiary deed naming all of her children as owners of her property. Two of her children preceded her in death. Who are t...

Question

My mother left a beneficiary deed naming all of her children as owners of her property. Two of her children preceded her in death. Who are the legal heirs of the deceased children?

Answer

Depending upon how the deed was worded, the interest of the predeceasing children may have evaporated. Otherwise, it woudl flow as their estate would. Their interest may go to the beneficaries of theri will, or to the chidlrne, surviing spouses or possibly siblings, which gets us back to the evaporation mode. You will need to consutl direlcty with a probate attorne in yrou area, to detemine the interests of your two deceased siblings.

Good luck

Answer

If the children listed to take under the beneficiary deed were listed as "joint tenants with rights of survivorship" then any child who died before the beneficiary deed took effect lost any right to the propertry. If the children were named to take as "tenants in common" then their interests would survive their deaths and pass to their heirs at law.