Which bequest is the amount remaining after payment of estate expenses and the specific, demonstrative, and general bequests?

Which bequest is the amount remaining after payment of estate expenses and the specific, demonstrative, and general bequests?

• A. Demonstrative bequest
• B. Residuary bequest
• C. General bequest
• D. Lapse of a bequest

Answer: (B)

A residuary bequest is what’s left in the estate after all debts, taxes, administration expenses, and all other types of bequests—specific, demonstrative, and general—have been satisfied. The idea is the estate’s remainder goes to the beneficiaries named to receive the residue under the will. Think of it this way: you first pay the debts and necessary expenses, then fulfill any specific bequests of particular items, then handle demonstrative bequests (which are amounts to be paid from a designated source) and general bequests (fixed amounts from the estate’s assets). What remains after all that is the residuary portion. A specific bequest gives a particular item, a demonstrative bequest pays a sum from a designated fund, and a general bequest pays a fixed sum from the estate’s general assets. A lapse of a bequest, meanwhile, refers to a bequest failing because the beneficiary can’t take it (e.g., predeceases), not to the remaining portion of the estate.

A residuary bequest is what’s left in the estate after all debts, taxes, administration expenses, and all other types of bequests—specific, demonstrative, and general—have been satisfied. The idea is the estate’s remainder goes to the beneficiaries named to receive the residue under the will.

Think of it this way: you first pay the debts and necessary expenses, then fulfill any specific bequests of particular items, then handle demonstrative bequests (which are amounts to be paid from a designated source) and general bequests (fixed amounts from the estate’s assets). What remains after all that is the residuary portion.

A specific bequest gives a particular item, a demonstrative bequest pays a sum from a designated fund, and a general bequest pays a fixed sum from the estate’s general assets. A lapse of a bequest, meanwhile, refers to a bequest failing because the beneficiary can’t take it (e.g., predeceases), not to the remaining portion of the estate.