distribution of inherited stock

There are five grandchildren. The grandfather died and left his stock to be evenly divided among the five grandchildren. One month after the grandfather's death, and before the will was probated or any distributions made, one of the grandchildren was killed in an accident. How should the stock be divided? Should the dead grandchild's share be distributed to his "estate" (his mother) or should it be distributed among the remaining four grandchildren? Grandfather and grandchildren are all residents of Texas.

Look carefull at the terms of the will or trust that controls these assets. Some wills and trusts have survivorship clauses which state if you dont survive the period, you are treated as predeceased. In those cases, again in will depend on whether the gift said only "if living" or said "if living, otherwise to his descendants".

If this is an intestate estate, then i would think the property would belong to the beneficiary's estate, although I suppose it is possible Texas law provides otherwise, but I would doubt it. Clearly, you need to retain a Texas attorney to examine the situation. Good luck.

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Jeffrey R. Gottlieb, Attorney at Law
http://www.illinoisestateplan.com
This response is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.