Rest, residue and remainder clarification

[LeeClarke]

Hi
In my mother's will she states, "I give devise and bequeath" her house to me to "use and benefit entirely", and the "rest, residue and remainder" of her estate to be evenly split between my siblings. To pay for her nursing home, it now looks like her house will be liquidated. In this scenario, would I be completely disinherited?
TIA

 

[Taxing Matters]

Hi
In my mother's will she states, "I give devise and bequeath" her house to me to "use and benefit entirely", and the "rest, residue and remainder" of her estate to be evenly split between my siblings. To pay for her nursing home, it now looks like her house will be liquidated. In this scenario, would I be completely disinherited?
TIA

You did not quote exactly what the will says and you did not indicate in what state your mother is domiciled, and that matters because state case law matters in interpretation of will. However, generally speaking, when a will makes a gift of a specific item of property and that property is no longer owned by the decedent at the time of her death, that gift lapses and that beneficiary gets nothing unless there is some other gift in the will to that beneficiary. So if the only thing your mother gives you in the will is the house and the house is sold before she dies, you likely get nothing. In that case your mother may wish to revise her will, assuming she is competent to do so.

 

[LeeClarke]

Thank you

 

[LdiJ]

You did not quote exactly what the will says and you did not indicate in what state your mother is domiciled, and that matters because state case law matters in interpretation of will. However, generally speaking, when a will makes a gift of a specific item of property and that property is no longer owned by the decedent at the time of her death, that gift lapses and that beneficiary gets nothing unless there is some other gift in the will to that beneficiary. So if the only thing your mother gives you in the will is the house and the house is sold before she dies, you likely get nothing. In that case your mother may wish to revise her will, assuming she is competent to do so.

I agree with this answer but I will also point out that liquid assets usually get used up (for nursing home care) before real estate is sold, so if he loses the house, its likely that his other siblings will have lost their inheritance as well, so everybody will be out in the cold. The only think that wouldn't get used up is life insurance.

 

[LeeClarke]

My Mum is being made a ward of the court and I am led to believe they will probably liquidate all her assets.
I'm based in Ireland.
Thanks for your help.

 

[quincy]

My Mum is being made a ward of the court and I am led to believe they will probably liquidate all her assets.
I'm based in Ireland.
Thanks for your help.

The laws in Ireland differ from the laws in the U.S.

FreeAdvice handles U.S. law questions and U.S. legal concerns only.

You will need to seek out assistance from a professional in your area for advice applicable to you and your mother.