If the beneficiaries in a California will are dead who are the beneficiaries?
Short Answer
In California, a beneficiary’s share usually passes to that beneficiary’s descendants under California’s anti-lapse statute—not automatically to the beneficiary’s surviving spouse or other relatives. If the will provides a substitute beneficiary, that provision controls. If neither applies, the gift may pass under the will’s residuary clause or through intestacy.
California Rules
| Situation | Who generally receives the property? |
|---|---|
| The will names an alternate or substitute beneficiary | The named substitute beneficiary |
| The beneficiary was related to the testator or to the testator’s spouse and left descendants | The beneficiary’s descendants, by representation |
| The beneficiary was not within California’s protected relationship categories and no alternate is named | The gift may lapse and pass under the residuary clause |
| The entire will fails to dispose of the estate | Heirs determined under California intestacy law |
California’s anti-lapse statute applies when a transferee dies before the testator or fails to survive as required by the instrument. The deceased transferee’s issue generally take that person’s place, unless the will provides otherwise. Cal. Prob. Code § 21110(a)–(b) [2]
The statute generally covers a person who is kindred to the testator or kindred to the testator’s current, former, or deceased spouse; it does not ordinarily protect a beneficiary who is merely an unrelated friend. Cal. Prob. Code § 21110(c) [2]
If the gift instead falls into intestacy, California’s order of succession generally begins with the decedent’s surviving spouse and issue, followed by parents, siblings or their descendants, grandparents or their descendants, and other specified relatives. Cal. Prob. Code § 6402 [3]
Example: If a California will leaves $100,000 to the testator’s brother, but the brother dies before the testator and leaves two children, those children generally inherit the brother’s share equally under the anti-lapse statute—unless the will names a different substitute beneficiary or requires the brother to survive in a manner that defeats the statute.
The result depends on who died first, whether the beneficiary left descendants, the beneficiary’s relationship to the testator, and the language of the will. Courts also generally seek to avoid partial intestacy and effectuate the testator’s intent. [1]