It’s best practice to update a will every few years to protect your estate from unexpected events. Major life events, such as marriage, divorce or the birth of a child, also require an update.
However, many testators forget another very important reason to update their will – the death of a beneficiary.
If one of your named beneficiaries dies, failing to update your will may lead to asset distribution that does not align with your wishes. Here’s what you need to do in order to avoid potential complications later on.
Review your will
Start by reviewing your existing will to understand how you originally intended to distribute the assets. Look for any clauses related to the deceased beneficiary, such as specific bequests or residuary clauses.
For example, a specific bequest details gifts or assets that you wish to leave to particular individuals or organizations. If the named beneficiary of a specific bequest has passed away, you may need to decide who should receive that item or sum instead.
Identify new beneficiaries
The next step is to decide who should receive the portion of the estate intended for the deceased. This could be another family member, friend or even a charitable organization.
You might not need to do this if your will has a contingent beneficiary clause, which specifies alternative beneficiaries in case the primary beneficiary is unable to inherit. This can help ensure a smooth distribution process without needing immediate revisions to the will.
If you don’t have such a clause yet, you might want to include one so you can avoid similar situations in the future.
Redistribute the assets to other beneficiaries
An alternative to finding a new beneficiary is to redistribute the assets to your remaining beneficiaries. For example, if you initially intended to leave equal shares to multiple beneficiaries, you could simply divide the deceased beneficiary’s share equally among the remaining ones.
Update and execute your will
Once you have finalized your decisions, update your current or will or write a new one entirely. An estate planning attorney can help you decide which option is best. They can also ensure your new will follows all California requirements so it remains executable.
