Q: My sister and I are the only two heirs listed in my Mother's will. My sister has since passed. Am I now sole heir? Fla.
Does the will need to be altered for me to be sole heir or will her family become defacto heirs as a result of no action on the will?
A:
You will need to have an attorney look specifically at the will. Whatever the will says is what will happen with the beneficiaries if one of them predeceases the other.
Some common will sections state that if one heir predeceases the other, all of the assets (or the specifically enumerated assets) go to the remaining heir. Sometimes the will will state that the assets that were to go to the deceased beneficiary are to go the deceased beneficiary's children or heirs. It's all dependent on what the will actually says.
A: I suggest that it is best to have you Mom update her will to state clearly her intention of whether you are the sole heir or not. (Of course the decision of whether to update or not would be totally up to your Mom). If your sister had children your Mom might want to leave them something in place of their Mom (your sister). Further I suggest that reviewing a will about every five years is a good idea for anyone as a lot can change in a 5 year time span.
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