In the doctrine of acts of independent significance, actions outside the will must have what?

• A. No significance
• B. A motive or significance apart from effect on the will
• C. A purely cosmetic significance
• D. Only tax implications

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that some actions are legally meaningful not because of what the actor intended to achieve in their own mind, but because the act itself has external significance. When an act done outside the person’s will carries its own motive or significance that stands apart from how it affects the person's own mental state, the act can have legal force because of that independent meaning. So the best answer reflects that the act outside the will must have a motive or significance apart from effect on the will. In other words, there must be some external purpose or social/legal meaning attached to the act itself, not just a reflection of the actor’s inner state. The other options miss the point because they deny or minimize that external significance (no significance, purely cosmetic, or only tax implications).