Under state law, who receives the $10,000 devise to Alec, the $5,000 devise to Bill, the $5,000 devise to Jerry, and Steven’s share of the residue of the estate? Explain your answers. Do you think this is what Thomas intended? Why or why not?
Thomas left a validly executed will that stated in part:
I devise $10,000 to my son Alec.
I devise $5,000 to my stepson Bill.
I devise $5,000 to my friend Jerry.
I devise the residue of my estate one half to the United Way and one half to my son Steven.
Unfortunately, Alec, Bill, Jerry, and Steven all predecease Thomas.
Alec leaves one daughter Cheryl, surviving him.
Bill leaves two daughters, Ann and Mitzi, surviving him.
Jerry leaves three daughters, Harriet, Marilyn and Jennifer surviving him.
Steven leaves one daughter, Robin surviving him.
At Thomas’s death, Cheryl, Ann, Mitzi, Harriet, Marilyn, Jennifer, and Robin are alive.
All other persons are deceased.
Assume an anti-lapse statute is in effect in your jurisdiction.
a. Alec leaves Cheryl; under anti-lapse Cheryl gets the $10,000.
b. Bill leaves Ann and Mitzi however, unless state statute says otherwise, neither Ann nor Mitzi take under the anti-lapse statutes, anti-lapse statutes usually don’t apply when a spouse, foster child, or stepchild is involved. This means that this gift will lapse into the residuary and Robin, as Steven’s descendant will receive $2,500 and the United Way receives the other $2,500.
c. Jerry leaves his 3 daughters however this has the same result as b. Harriet, Marilyn and Jennifer do not receive the bequest. Robin and the United Way split the bequest equally.
d. We do not know if this is what Thomas wanted. However, we can surmise that if he felt strongly enough to leave his stepson a gift, he may have wanted his stepson’s children to receive the bequest under an anti-lapse scheme (like grandchildren). In this instance, one grandchild (Robin) will receive a much larger share of Thomas’ estate than his other grandchild (Cheryl). It is also possible that he favored Steven’s child, Robin, over his other grandchildren, since he obviously favored one son over another but we really don’t know if this is what Thomas thought. Sometimes, parents favor one child over another but do not feel the same way about grandchildren. We cannot account for family dynamics without more facts but the speculation is interesting.
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