When making a Will you will often select named beneficiaries to receive a portion of your estate or perhaps a specific amount known as a legacy in the event of your death.

What you will then need to consider is what you want to happen in the event they have died before you. Would you want the amount/ share they were due to receive to pass to their children, if they have any 'to their issue' or would you want the gift to fail at that point and instead go to another named beneficiary or 'back in the pot', potentially then forming part of your residuary estate.

It is important to consider this carefully and to make an informed decision at the time your Will is made.

It is also crucial to be aware what may happen if the Will does not cover what you would want to happen in this scenario.

It is the Wills Act 1837 that serves as the foundation for all Wills in England and Wales.

It states at Section 33 that where a Will contains a gift as described above; and that beneficiary dies before the you 'the testator', then the children/ issue of that now deceased beneficiary who are instead living will instead be substituted and will receive the gift; in equal shares if there are more than one.

However, this 'statutory mechanism' does not apply if there is a contrary intention in the Will. A contrary intention however needs to be clear and concise and the advice from us at Bequeathed in particular is that if you do not wish for a gift/ share of your estate to pass to the children/ issue of your named beneficiary then your Will should specifically and expressly exclude section 33.