Under antilapse, if a predeceased beneficiary leaves no descendants, does their share typically pass to the beneficiary's spouse?

• A. Yes, always
• B. No, it typically does not pass to the spouse
• C. It passes to the testator's estate
• D. It lapses entirely

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how anti-lapse works: it’s designed to keep a gift alive by substituting the beneficiary’s own descendants if that beneficiary dies before the testator. The substitute is limited to the beneficiary’s lineal descendants, not their spouse. So when the predeceased beneficiary leaves no descendants, there’s nothing to substitute, and the gift typically falls back to the terms of the will or to the testator’s estate (or to any alternate beneficiaries the will specifies). The surviving spouse of the predeceased beneficiary isn’t automatically entitled to that share under the usual anti-lapse rule unless the will or applicable statute provides a separate provision for the spouse. That’s why the correct understanding is that the share does not typically pass to the spouse.