**Lapsed gift** (noun) — A gift made in a will that fails to take effect because the intended beneficiary died before the testator. When a gift lapses, it generally falls back into the residuary estate (the remainder of the estate after specific gifts are distributed) unless the will contains a substitutional gift clause or unless anti-lapse legislation applies to save the gift for the beneficiary's descendants.
A lapsed gift is a gift in your will that can't be given because the person you intended to receive it died before you did.
Imagine your will says "I leave my piano to my friend Sarah." But Sarah dies before you do. When you die and your executor tries to distribute your estate, they can't give the piano to Sarah—she's not around to receive it. The gift has lapsed.
What happens to a lapsed gift depends on your will and the law. If your will has a clause saying what happens to failed gifts, that controls. If it doesn't, the gift usually falls into your residuary estate—the pool of everything left over after specific gifts—and gets distributed to your residuary beneficiaries.
In some situations, anti-lapse laws might apply. These laws (which vary by jurisdiction) can save a gift that would otherwise lapse by redirecting it to the deceased beneficiary's descendants. For example, if you left something to your daughter and she died before you, the anti-lapse law might give that gift to her children (your grandchildren) instead.
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Lapsed gifts create complications in estate administration and can result in outcomes you wouldn't have wanted.
The basic problem is that life is unpredictable. You make a will leaving specific gifts to specific people. Then those people might die before you do. Unless you've planned for this possibility, those gifts fail and your estate doesn't distribute the way you intended.
A well-drafted will deals with potential lapsed gifts in two main ways:
First, by including substitutional clauses. Instead of just saying "I leave my jewelry to my sister Mary," a better approach is "I leave my jewelry to my sister Mary, but if she predeceases me, to her daughter Emma." This gives you control over what happens if your first choice isn't available.
Second, by reviewing and updating your will regularly. If someone you've named as a beneficiary dies, you can update your will to name a new beneficiary for that gift. Don't assume the law will redirect the gift the way you'd want—it might not.
Anti-lapse laws exist in many jurisdictions, but they don't apply to all beneficiaries. Typically, they only save gifts to close relatives like children, grandchildren, or siblings—and only by redirecting the gift to that relative's descendants. They usually don't apply to gifts to friends, charities, or distant relatives. And the specific rules vary by location.
The risk of relying on anti-lapse laws is that you lose control. The law decides where the gift goes, and it might not match your intentions. Maybe you'd have preferred the gift go to your residuary beneficiaries, or to someone else entirely. By including your own substitutional provisions, you maintain that control.
For your residuary estate—the catch-all that covers everything not specifically gifted—it's also important to name backup beneficiaries. If your residuary beneficiaries predecease you and you have no substitutes, you could end up dying partially intestate, with the law deciding what happens to at least part of your estate.
**Related terms:** [Beneficiary](/dictionary/beneficiary), [Residuary estate](/dictionary/residuary-estate), Anti-lapse statute, [Ademption](/dictionary/ademption)
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