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Can Someone Please Clarify What This Clause Means???

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dmdrumm

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? NEBRASKA

Hello I have a question about what a clause in a will means in plain english....States....

I devise and bequeath all of my residuary estate, being all property wherever situated in which I may have an interest at the time of my death to my issue by representation.

Can someone explain what this statement means?? We have ended up with a very simple estate that has turned into a nightmare with our family...The attorney for the estate has not once explained in detail what the will means so everyone is interpeting this will to benifit themselves....There are eight adult children which two are executors. Also if there are two executors are the automatically equal or is one above the other??? Thank you in advance for your response...

Diane
 


divgradcurl

Senior Member
All this means is that anything that the decedent owned that wasn't disposed of elsewhere in his or her will is divided up amongst his iss ue be representation. His "issue" are his children -- whether or not "issue" will include adopted or step-children is dependent on state caselaw, but adopted children almost certainly are included, and step children are probably included. "By representation" means that if one of his "issue" predeceased the decendent -- in other words, one of his kids died before he did -- then that kid's heirs "step into" the shoes of his kid, and take that share.

To clarify, if the issue were to take "without representation," then if a kid predeceased the decedent, the dead kid's gift would "lapse," and the decedent's estate would only be divided amongst the issue still alive at the time of the decedent's death. But by stating "by representation," this means that the heirs of any of the decedent's issue will inherit in place of the dead issue.

Hope that makes some sense, although I don't know why your attorney hasn't said anything about it.

As far as executors go, they only get "more" if the will specifies they get more. Some state allow the executors to be paid for their work.
 

dmdrumm

Junior Member
Thank you so much for your quick response....It seems we are not dealing with a very helpful attorney I have begged my sister-in-law to seek other legal advice so yesterday she finally contacted an attorney guess what he explained the clause exactly as you did I can not believe after this was explained how much sense it made....As he was looking over the will he just shook his head stating she needs a lawyer because obviously the current attorney is representing the other executor...Both executors have interpeted the will differently because the current attorney has never explained what statements mean even after being asked many times....Surprisingly seven out of the eight kids agree on what needs to be done with personal items it is one that has different ideas and he is one of the executors...So hopefully we are now getting on the right track....Again Thank you so much for your quick response....

Diane
 

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