Generally, an unclaimed inheritance will pass on to the next person in the line of succession.
If you refuse to accept an inheritance, you will not be responsible for inheritance taxes, but you'll have no say in who receives the assets in your place. The bequest passes either to the contingent beneficiary listed in the will or, if that person died without a will, according to your state's laws of intestacy.
A beneficiary may also choose to disclaim only a percentage of the inherited assets. This is acceptable if the disclaimer meets certain requirements, in which case the asset will be treated as though it never were the property of the original beneficiary.
Often times inheritance disputes occur when there is a misunderstanding between siblings over what their parent intended to distribute to them upon their death. To preempt this, it is best to hire an Estate Planning lawyer who can sit down with your parent to discuss how they wish to distribute their estate.
Keeping proper accounts
An executor must account to the residuary beneficiaries named in the Will (and sometimes to others) for all the assets of the estate, including all receipts and disbursements occurring over the course of administration.
If you are named as a beneficiary in a Will, but have not received your share of the estate (perhaps because the executor of the Will has been unable to locate you), you have 12 years to make a claim.
Ways an Executor Cannot Override a Beneficiary
An executor cannot change beneficiaries' inheritances or withhold their inheritances unless the will has expressly granted them the authority to do so. The executor also cannot stray from the terms of the will or their fiduciary duty.
It's also important to keep in mind that disclaiming an inheritance is permanent. If you change your mind down the line and decide you do want the assets you would have inherited, you can't reverse your original disclaimer. But you could avoid disclaimer's remorse by only refusing part of an inheritance.
The court will make the order on the presumption that the missing beneficiary has died. If the beneficiary comes forward later, they can still try to claim their share of the estate from the other beneficiaries, but the executor or administrator is protected by the Benjamin Order.
Renunciation of inheritance means that an heir renounces his/her right to inherit any of legacy when the heir does not want to inherit the legacy of the ancestor (a deceased person).
A person can disclaim their benefit or part of it, where they disclaim a specific bequest or their share of the residue of the estate – the amount outstanding after all specific bequests have been distributed.
Children - if there is a surviving partner
All the children of the parent who has died intestate inherit equally from the estate. This also applies where a parent has children from different relationships.
An executor can override the wishes of these beneficiaries due to their legal duty. However, the beneficiary of a Will is very different than an individual named in a beneficiary designation of an asset held by a financial company.
The executor is responsible for paying out to all beneficiaries and must follow the instructions in the will.
In most situations, beneficiaries can't override a legally-appointed executor just because they don't like the decisions they are making. However, if a beneficiary believes that the executor is not following the terms of the will, they have the legal right to ask the court to appoint a new executor.
There is a strict time limit within which an eligible individual can make a claim on the estate. This is six months from the date that the grant of probate was issued. For this reason, executors are advised to wait until this period has lapsed before distributing any of the estate to the beneficiaries.
There is no specific time limit within which you should file for probate petition. The probate code simply states that the petition may be filed at any time after a decedent's death. However, there is generally nothing gained by delay.
The law doesn't require estate beneficiaries to share their inheritance with siblings or other family members. This means that if a beneficiary receives the entire estate, then they are legally allowed to keep it all for themselves without having to distribute any of it amongst their siblings.
This duty to account would not give beneficiaries a right to see the deceased's account details. In fact, this information is likely to be held by the personal representatives (even if they have it) under a duty of confidentiality owed to the deceased which persists beyond death.
The only people entitled to receive a copy of the Estate Accounts are the Residuary Beneficiaries of the Estate. A Residuary Beneficiary is someone who is entitled to a share of what's left in the Estate once all the funeral expenses*, debts, taxes and other gifts have been settled.
Some times beneficiaries want to see more detailed documents such as a Deceased's bank statement or pension documentation. Strictly speaking a beneficiary has no entitlement as of right to such documentation and it is your discretion as Executor whether or not to disclose it. The nature of the beneficiary's interest.
I want to exclude a child from receiving anything in my will, or leave them much less than the other kids. Can I do this? Yes, you can disinherit a child. You must be aware of the Wills Variation Act though.
Yes, parents can disinherit their children.
How do you exclude a child from a Will? In order to exclude a child, you must include in your will something called a “deliberate exclusion clause”. As the name suggests, this will specifically exclude the child from your will and consequently, they will not benefit from the distribution of your assets upon your death.