Testamentary Conveyances

Question 1

Ademption

Answer 1

if property is specifically devised in the testator’s will, but the testator no longer has possession of that property, the gift fails. A gift of land is always a specific devise. Money is not.

Question 2

While money is not a specific devise, what kind of money is?

Answer 2

Proceeds of a sale of land which was executory at the time of the testator’s death.

Question 3

Exoneration

Answer 3

in some states, where a devisee inherits property from a testator which is encumbered with mortgages, leins, etc., the devisee has the right to have the land exonerated from the estate of the deceased. However, most states have abolished this doctrine.

Question 4

Lapse

Answer 4

when the beneficiary of a gift in a will dies before the testator, the gift lapses, i.e. does not transfer.

Question 5

What is the effect of an anti-lapse statute?

Answer 5

anti-lapse statutes prevent a gift from lapsing when its intended beneficiary dies before the testator does. Instead, the gift passes to beneficiary’s descendants. The gift will NEVER go to the beneficiary’s spouse.

Question 6

Abatement

Answer 6

if the estate assets are not sufficient to pay all claims against the estate and satisfy all devises and bequests, the gifts are abated (i.e. reduced). This begins with intestate gifts, the residuary estate, general legacies, tehn specific devises and bequests.

Question 7

Death Escrow

Answer 7

an arrangement in which the grantor hands a deed to a custodian for delivery on grantor’s death.

Question 8

When does a death escrow become effective?

Answer 8

when the grantor places the deed outside of their control.