Legal Definitions - predecease

To predecease someone means to die before that person. This term is particularly significant in estate planning and inheritance law, as it directly impacts who is eligible to receive assets from a deceased person's estate.

When a person who was intended to be a beneficiary in a will dies before the person who wrote the will (known as the testator), the original plan for distributing assets may need to be adjusted. Similarly, if a potential heir dies before someone who passes away without a will (intestate), state laws governing inheritance will determine how the estate is divided among the remaining living relatives.

• Example 1: Beneficiary in a Will

  Imagine a woman named Eleanor who wrote a will stating that her beloved niece, Clara, should inherit her antique jewelry collection. Tragically, Clara passes away in a car accident six months before Eleanor dies of natural causes.

  In this scenario, Clara predeceased Eleanor because Clara died before Eleanor did. Since Clara is no longer alive to receive the jewelry, Eleanor's will or state law (often through what are called "antilapse statutes") will determine what happens to the collection. It might go to Clara's children, another named beneficiary, or become part of Eleanor's general estate to be distributed among other heirs.

• Example 2: Intestate Succession

  Consider a man named Robert who has two adult children, Michael and Lisa. Robert never created a will. Five years ago, Michael passed away, leaving behind two young children, Sarah and Tom. Recently, Robert died without having made a will.

  Here, Michael predeceased his father, Robert. Because Robert died without a will, his estate will be distributed according to state laws of intestate succession. Since Michael died before Robert, he cannot inherit directly. Instead, depending on the specific state laws, Michael's children, Sarah and Tom, might inherit the share of Robert's estate that Michael would have received had he survived his father.