if a beneficiary passes away, does the beneficiary status become null and void or does it pass on to the heirs of the beneficiary ?

Question

if a beneficiary passes away, does the beneficiary status become null and void or does it pass on to the heirs of the beneficiary ?

Answer

It depends on how the will or other estate documents are written.

Answer

If it is a will, usually it will have alternate provisions, like "to X, provided X survives me by y days, if not, then to z". It may be that it will go to the heirs of the beneficiary but the document will tell you. If it says nothing and there is no one after the deceased beneficiary to take, it may wind up going to the deceased beneficiary's heirs anyway. Look at the document.