Legal Definitions - antilapse statute

An antilapse statute is a law designed to prevent a gift specified in a will from failing or "lapsing" if the person intended to receive the gift (the beneficiary) dies before the person who made the will (the testator). Without such a statute, if a beneficiary predeceases the testator, the gift would typically return to the testator's estate and be distributed to other beneficiaries or according to state laws for estates without specific instructions.

Antilapse statutes intervene in specific situations, usually when the deceased beneficiary is a relative of the testator and has descendants of their own. Instead of the gift lapsing, the statute directs that the gift will pass to these descendants, effectively substituting them for the original beneficiary. The exact family relationships covered by antilapse statutes can vary significantly from state to state, with some states covering only direct descendants and siblings, while others have broader definitions of covered relatives.

Here are some examples illustrating how antilapse statutes work:

• Example 1: Direct Descendant

  Imagine Eleanor writes a will leaving her entire vintage coin collection to her son, Mark. Tragically, Mark passes away unexpectedly a year before Eleanor does. Mark, however, has two children, Sophia and Liam. Without an antilapse statute, the gift to Mark would lapse, and the coin collection would become part of Eleanor's remaining estate, potentially going to other beneficiaries or being distributed differently than she intended. However, because of an antilapse statute, Sophia and Liam, as Mark's direct descendants, would inherit the coin collection directly from Eleanor's estate, just as Mark would have if he had survived her. This ensures Eleanor's intent to keep the collection within her family line is honored.

• Example 2: Collateral Relative

  Consider David, who wills his beloved lakeside cabin to his sister, Brenda. Brenda has a daughter, Chloe. If Brenda dies before David, an antilapse statute would typically allow Chloe to inherit the cabin. This demonstrates how antilapse statutes can extend to collateral relatives (like siblings) and their descendants. However, it's important to note that if David had left the cabin to his close friend, Sarah, and Sarah predeceased him, an antilapse statute would generally not apply because Sarah is not a relative covered by such laws. In that case, the gift to Sarah would lapse, and the cabin would revert to David's estate.

• Example 3: State-Specific Coverage

  Suppose Arthur leaves a significant sum of money in his will to his niece, Laura. Laura has two children, Mia and Noah. If Laura predeceases Arthur, whether Mia and Noah inherit the money depends on the specific antilapse statute in Arthur's state. Some states have broad antilapse statutes that cover nieces and nephews (as blood relatives) and their descendants. In such a state, Mia and Noah would inherit Laura's share. However, in a state with a more restrictive antilapse statute that only covers direct descendants (like children or grandchildren) and siblings of the testator, Laura, as a niece, might not be a covered beneficiary. In that scenario, the gift to Laura would lapse, and Mia and Noah would not inherit under the antilapse statute, highlighting the importance of understanding specific state laws.