‘Wills are typically described as “ambulatory” which means that they possess no force or effect prior to the death of the testator. Where the beneficiary of a gift predeceases the testator then as a general rule the gift will fail or “lapse”. Note that a deemed predecease will arise in various cases such as the effect of divorce on a gift made by one spouse to another. The effect is that for the purpose of any gift to that spouse the survivor will be deemed to have predeceased the testator[1]. Another less well known example is the effect of renunciation of a gift.’
Tanfield Chambers, 19th February 2015
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
