Dispositions to issue will pass by representation if the instrument was created after September 1992. Prior to this date, how do such dispositions pass?

• A. Per stirpes.
• B. By representation.
• C. By intestacy.
• D. By general bequest.

Answer: (A)

When a will makes a disposition to issue to someone who dies before the testator, the intended gift isn’t lost—it passes to that person’s issue. The method governs how that transfer is calculated.

Historically in New York, dispositions to issue passed by per stirpes. That means the predeceased beneficiary’s share is divided among their descendants in equal portions by branch (e.g., if one child dies leaving two grandchildren, that child’s share goes to those grandchildren rather than passing to the surviving siblings of the deceased child). After Sept. 1992, the same concept is described using the term representing, but the older practice used per stirpes. So, prior to the change, per stirpes was the way such dispositions passed.