Daily AncestorLapse
Lapse in a will means a gift fails because the person who was to receive it died before the testator, so it falls back into the estate unless a statute saves it.
A will speaks at the testator's death, not when it was written. If a devisee or legatee died first, the gift to that person lapsed. Many states passed anti-lapse statutes that send such a gift to the dead beneficiary's descendants instead, unless the will says otherwise.
When an estate settlement does not match the will, a lapsed gift is a common reason. It also tells you that the named beneficiary died between the date of the will and the testator's death.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Lapse." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/lapse. Last checked 2026-10-12.