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Podcast: Law School
Episode: Wills (2023): Property disposition (Part One)
Description: Lapse and anti-lapse.
Lapse and anti-lapse are complementary concepts under the US law of wills, which address the disposition of property that is willed to someone who dies before the testator (the writer of the will).
Lapse.
At common law, lapse occurs when the beneficiary or the devisee under the will predeceases the testator, invalidating the gift. The gift would instead revert to the residuary estate or be granted under the law of intestate succession.
Anti-lapse statutes.
Most common-law jurisdictions have enacted an anti-lapse statute to address this situation. The anti-lapse...