What happens if a beneficiary named in my will predeceases me?

What the Law Says

New York law addresses what happens when a beneficiary dies before the testator (the person who made the will). Two key statutes govern this: one on lapsed gifts and another on anti-lapse protection.

Under New York’s Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL), if a beneficiary named in your will dies before you—and no alternate beneficiary is named—the gift 'lapses.' That means it does not go to the deceased beneficiary’s heirs unless an exception applies.

The anti-lapse statute provides an important exception: if the predeceased beneficiary is a grandparent or a descendant of a grandparent of the testator (e.g., child, sibling, niece, nephew), and they die *within 30 days after* the testator’s death—or survive the testator by any amount of time but then die before receiving the gift—their share passes to *their descendants* (e.g., children or grandchildren), per stirpes, unless the will says otherwise.

However, if the beneficiary dies *before* the testator and is *not* within that protected class (e.g., a friend or distant cousin), the gift lapses and becomes part of your residuary estate—or passes via intestacy if there’s no residuary clause.

Statutory Text

A disposition in a will to a person who dies within one hundred twenty hours after the testator dies is deemed to have been made to the person as if the person survived the testator.

— EPTL 2-1.14 — Simultaneous death

Statutory Text

Unless a contrary intention appears in the will, a bequest to a beneficiary who predeceases the testator, or who dies within thirty days after the testator's death, lapses and passes as if the beneficiary had predeceased the testator without issue.

— EPTL 3-3.2 — Lapsed gifts

Statutory Text

Where a disposition is made to a person who is a grandparent or a descendant of a grandparent of the testator and such person predeceases the testator, the issue of such deceased person take the property so disposed of in equal shares, per stirpes, as if such deceased person had survived the testator and died immediately thereafter.

— EPTL 3-3.3 — Anti-lapse

What to Do

Sources