Which statutes save a bequest if a beneficiary predeceased the testator and are included in the protected list?

Which statutes save a bequest if a beneficiary predeceased the testator and are included in the protected list?

• A. Antilapse statutes
• B. Intestacy statutes
• C. Case law
• D. Statutory law

Answer: (A)

Anti-lapse statutes are the mechanism that prevents a bequest from failing when the named beneficiary dies before the testator. They apply to gifts to individuals who are on the statute’s protected list; if that beneficiary predeceases but leaves surviving descendants, the bequest is substituted to those descendants (usually per stirpes) rather than lapsing. This keeps the intended allocation within the family line and avoids losing the gift to the residue or to intestacy, provided the beneficiary is within the protected class and the statute applies. Intestacy statutes govern distributions only when there is no valid will, case law concerns judicial interpretations, and general statutory law is broader than this specific rule. So the bequest-saving mechanism described here is the anti-lapse statute.

Anti-lapse statutes are the mechanism that prevents a bequest from failing when the named beneficiary dies before the testator. They apply to gifts to individuals who are on the statute’s protected list; if that beneficiary predeceases but leaves surviving descendants, the bequest is substituted to those descendants (usually per stirpes) rather than lapsing. This keeps the intended allocation within the family line and avoids losing the gift to the residue or to intestacy, provided the beneficiary is within the protected class and the statute applies. Intestacy statutes govern distributions only when there is no valid will, case law concerns judicial interpretations, and general statutory law is broader than this specific rule. So the bequest-saving mechanism described here is the anti-lapse statute.