predecease

Predecease is a verb meaning to die before another person. It is commonly used in legal, estate planning, and genealogical contexts to describe a person who dies prior to someone else who would have benefited from them or been involved in a succession. The standard past tense form is predeceased, and the present participle is predeceasing.

In legal documents, predecease is frequently applied to beneficiaries, spouses, or relatives named in wills, trusts, or life insurance policies. For example, a will might state that if a beneficiary predeceases the testator, their share passes to alternate beneficiaries. The term helps clarify how gifts or rights should be handled when death occurs before the relevant person.

Legal implications often depend on jurisdiction and the presence of controlling provisions. Without protective language, a beneficiary’s predeceasing might cause a gift to lapse or fail. Many jurisdictions employ anti-lapse or similar rules intended to preserve the intended transfer by having the beneficiary’s issue receive the gift instead. If no such provisions apply, the intended disposition may instead pass according to the estate plan’s residuary language or by intestate succession rules.

Related terms include anti-lapse, survivorship, and issue (as in the descendants who may inherit if a beneficiary predeceased). In everyday usage, predecease is a neutral way to describe a death that affects succession, inheritance, or beneficiary designations.