Simple English definitions for legal terms
Read a random definition: Revocable Trust
Dependent relevant revocation (DRR) is a legal rule that says if someone makes a new will to replace an old one, but the new will is found to be invalid, then the old will is still valid. This is important because if both wills were invalid, the person's property would be given away according to the law instead of their wishes. The reason for this rule is that the person who made the will probably only wanted to change it if the new one was good, and didn't want to die without a will at all.
Dependent Relevant Revocation (DRR) is a legal concept in estates and trusts law. It means that if a person revokes their previous will by creating a new one, but the new will is found to be invalid, then the previous will is still considered valid. This is because the person only revoked the previous will on the condition that the new will was valid.
For example, let's say that John creates a will in which he leaves all his property to his wife, Jane. Later, John creates a new will in which he leaves all his property to his son, Jack. However, the new will is found to be invalid because John did not sign it properly. In this case, the previous will that left everything to Jane would still be considered valid because John only revoked it on the condition that the new will was valid.
The DRR doctrine is based on two principles:
Without DRR, both wills would be invalid, and the person's property would pass through intestacy, which means that the state would decide who gets the property.