Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary – Surviving the Death of the Will Maker

If a Will beneficiary survives the death of the Will Maker for a sufficient period of time, the testamentary gift to the Will beneficiary will be payable to the estate of the Will beneficiary.

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary – Failure to Survive the Will Maker’s Death

If a Will beneficiary who is either:

  • a grandparent, or
  • a lineal descendant of a grandparent,

of the Will maker fails to survive the Will maker’s death, descendants of the deceased Will beneficiary who survive the Will maker by 120 hours will take in place of the deceased Will beneficiary, unless a Minnesota Will provision contains a survivorship provision, such as:

  • if he or she survives me, or,
  • to my surviving children.

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary – General Rule of Construction

M.S. Section 524.2-603, Subd. 1 identifies a general rule of construction with respect to Minnesota Wills, by providing in part as follows:

If a devisee who is

  • a grandparent or
  • a lineal descendant of a grandparent of the testator

is dead at the time of execution of the will, fails to survive the testator, or is treated as if the devisee predeceased the testator, the issue of the deceased devisee who survive the testator by 120 hours take in place of the deceased devisee.

If they are all of the same degree of kinship to the devisee, they take equally.

If they are of unequal degree, those of more remote degree take by representation.

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary – Contrary Intention

M.S. Section 524.2-601 identifies that the general rule can be overcome by a finding of a contrary intention on the part of the Will maker, by providing as follows:

In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention, the rules of construction in this part control the construction of a will.

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary – Class Gift Devisee

M.S. Section 524.2-603, Subd. 1 provides in part as follows:

A person who would have been a devisee under a class gift if the person had survived the testator is treated as a devisee for purposes of this section, whether the death occurred before or after the execution of the will.

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary – By Representation – Per Stirpes

If a provision in a Minnesota Will calls for property to be distributed to Will beneficiaries by representation or per stirpes, the property would be divided into as many equal shares as there are:

(i)        surviving children of the designated ancestor, and

(ii)       deceased children of the designated ancestor who left surviving descendants.

Each surviving child would be allocated one share.

The share of each deceased child with surviving descendants would be divided in the same manner, with a subsequent division repeated at each succeeding generation until the property is fully allocated among the surviving descendants.

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary – Per Capita

If a Minnesota Will provision or statute calls for the property of a Will maker to be distributed to the Will beneficiaries per capita, the property would be divided into as many equal shares as there were:

(i)        surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the designated ancestor which contains one or more surviving descendants, and

(ii)       deceased descendants of the designated ancestor in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any.

Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation would be allocated one share.

The remaining shares, if any, would then combined and divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if:

  • the surviving descendants who were allocated a share, and their surviving descendants,
  • had predeceased the distribution date.

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary – Disposition of Class Gifts

If a class gift in favor of descendants does not specify the manner in which the Will maker’s property is to be distributed among such class members, the gift will be distributed among the class members who are living upon the death of a Will maker in such shares as they would receive under Minnesota’s law of intestate succession – as if the designated ancestor had then died intestate owning the property to be transferred to the class.

M.S. Section 524.2-101(a) provides in part as follows:

The intestate estate of the decedent consists of any part of the decedent’s estate

  • not allowed to the decedent’s spouse or descendants under sections 524.2-402, 524.2-403, and 524.2-404, and
  • not disposed of by will.

The intestate estate passes by intestate succession to the decedent’s heirs as prescribed in this chapter, except as modified by the decedent’s will.

Death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary – Conclusion

Please contact Minnesota Attorney Gary C. Dahle for assistance in the event of the death of a Minnesota Will Beneficiary, or with the preparation, or probate, of any Minnesota Will.

Copyright 2018 – All Rights Reserved.

No claim to original government works.

Gary C. Dahle – Attorney at Law

2704 Mounds View Blvd., Mounds View, MN 55112

Phone:  763-780-8390     Fax: 763-780-1735

[email protected]

Minnesota Probate Law Topics

Minnesota Estate Planning

Minnesota Real Estate Law

North Dakota Probate, Mineral Rights, and Real Estate

In addition to Minnesota Probate Law, Attorney Gary C. Dahle also provides services with respect to North Dakota probate law.

Legal Disclaimer

Information provided herein is only for general informational and educational purposes. The laws relating to Minnesota Wills involve many complex legal issues. If you have a specific legal problem about which you are seeking advice, either consult with your own attorney, or retain an attorney of your choice.

Gary C. Dahle, Attorney at Law, is licensed to practice law only in the State of Minnesota, and in the State of North Dakota, in the United States of America. Therefore, only those persons interested in matters governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota or North Dakota should consult with, or provide information to, Gary C. Dahle, Attorney at Law, or take note of information provided herein.

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