In a majority-rule jurisdiction, do anti-lapse statutes apply to class gifts?

• A. Yes
• B. No
• C. Only for unrelated beneficiaries
• D. Depends on the size of the class

Answer: (A)

Anti-lapse statutes are designed to prevent a gift from failing when the beneficiary dies before the testator by substituting the beneficiary’s own issue to take the gift. When the gift is to a class, many jurisdictions in the majority rule apply this same protection. If a member of a class dies before the testator and leaves surviving issue, those issue usually take that member’s share, typically by representation. This keeps the distribution within the intended group rather than letting the entire gift lapse or drop outside the class. If the predeceased member has no surviving issue, the substitute doesn’t apply and the treatment follows the will or local rules, which may cause that share to lapse or pass to other parts of the class or to the residue. So, in a majority-rule jurisdiction, a class gift is covered by anti-lapse, preserving the intended distribution to the class through the deceased member’s issue when possible.