#7 · 2026-08-13 · Legal term
Anti-lapse statute
Anti-lapse statutes can substitute a deceased beneficiary's qualifying descendants for the beneficiary when a will's gift would otherwise lapse. Covered relationships and what language defeats substitution depend on the governing state statute.
Rule to remember
An anti-lapse statute preserves certain testamentary gifts when a covered beneficiary fails to survive the testator by substituting that beneficiary's qualifying descendants.
Key elements and checks
- A testamentary gift to a beneficiary covered by the governing statute.
- That beneficiary fails to survive as required.
- Qualifying descendants exist and the instrument does not effectively express a contrary disposition.
In the source’s words
“the gift intended for that beneficiary passes through succession to the beneficiary’s descendants”
Cornell Wex — Nonlapse statute
Kinship limits, class gifts, survivorship language, and contrary-intent rules vary by state. This differs from ordinary per-stirpes allocation among existing takers.