Legal Definitions - caduce

Caduce (verb)

To caduce means for property, rights, or a privilege to legally revert to the state or another designated entity. This typically occurs due to specific circumstances, such as the absence of legal heirs, the abandonment of property, or the failure to meet certain legal conditions.

• Example 1: Unclaimed Financial Assets

  If an individual passes away without a will or identifiable heirs, and their savings account remains untouched for a period defined by state law (e.g., seven years), the funds in that account may eventually caduce to the state treasury. This means the state legally takes possession of the money as unclaimed property.

• Example 2: Forfeited Mineral Rights

  A private company held exclusive mineral extraction rights on a piece of land, but their lease agreement stipulated that these rights would be forfeited if mining operations did not commence within a decade. When the company failed to begin work within the specified timeframe, the mineral rights caduced back to the landowner, who then regained full control over them.

Caducity (noun)

Caducity refers to the legal failure or invalidation of a gift made in a will. This often happens when the intended recipient dies before the person who made the will (the testator), when the specific item bequeathed no longer exists, or if a condition attached to the gift is not fulfilled.

• Example 1: Beneficiary Dies Before Testator

  A will specifies that a valuable collection of antique books should be given to the testator's godson. However, the godson passes away two years before the testator. In this scenario, the gift of the books would experience caducity, meaning it fails and cannot be distributed to the godson's estate. The will might then direct an alternative recipient, or the books might become part of the general estate assets.

• Example 2: Specific Property No Longer Owned

  A will bequeaths a specific lakeside cabin to the testator's sister. Before the testator's death, they decide to sell the cabin and use the proceeds to purchase a different property. The gift of the lakeside cabin would suffer caducity because the specific property intended for the sister is no longer part of the testator's estate at the time of death.

• Example 3: Unmet Condition for an Inheritance

  A will establishes a significant educational trust fund for a grandchild, but only if the grandchild enrolls in an accredited university by the age of 20. The grandchild chooses not to pursue higher education and instead starts a business immediately after high school. The conditional gift of the trust fund would experience caducity because the specific requirement set forth in the will was not fulfilled.