Under New York's Anti-Lapse Statute, if a disposition is made to a brother, sister or issue and that beneficiary predeceases, where does the disposition go?

• A. Under New York's Anti-Lapse Statute, if a testator makes a disposition to his or her brother, sister or issue and that beneficiary predeceases, the disposition passes to the issue of the predeceased brother, sister or issue.
• B. It lapses entirely to the testator's estate.
• C. It passes to the next named beneficiary in the will.
• D. It is distributed according to a default statutory scheme.

Answer: (A)

New York’s anti-lapse rule prevents a gift from failing when the recipient is a close relative of the testator and predeceases. If a bequest is made to a brother, sister, or to the issue of such a relative, and that beneficiary dies before the testator, the gift doesn’t lapse into the testator’s estate. Instead, it passes to the deceased beneficiary’s own issue (their descendants). This keeps the gift within the family line and avoids it failing outright.

For example, if the will leaves a share to a brother who dies before the testator, that share goes to the brother’s children rather than to the testator’s estate or to the next named beneficiary. The statute applies unless the will shows a contrary intent or the circumstances fall outside the statute’s scope.