What Happens If a Will Beneficiary Dies before the Testator in Florida?

A gift to someone who dies before the testator is said to lapse. Section 732.603 creates a substitute gift in limited cases. The beneficiary must be a grandparent of the testator or a descendant of a grandparent, which includes children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

The substitute gift goes to the beneficiary's surviving descendants, who take per stirpes the share the beneficiary would have received. The statute applies when the beneficiary was already dead when the will was signed, failed to survive the testator, or must be treated as having died first.

A will can override this result. Language showing a contrary intent, such as a requirement that a beneficiary survive the testator, can prevent the substitute gift. Section 732.603(3) addresses how survivorship words are read.

When the antilapse statute does not apply, section 732.604 controls. A failed gift other than a residuary gift becomes part of the residue. If the residue was left to two or more people and one share fails, it passes to the other residuary beneficiaries in proportion to their interests.

Gifts to friends, charities, or a spouse are outside the antilapse statute because those beneficiaries are not descendants of the testator's grandparents. Will drafting is covered on Easler Law PLLC's wills and trusts practice page.