WARREN D. TUBBS, APPELLANT,
v.
CHARLENE TEEPLE, APPELLEE
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The Florida Anti-Lapse Statute does not apply to a testamentary gift to a stepdaughter because a stepdaughter is not a descendant of the testatrix.
A will named the decedent's stepdaughter as residuary beneficiary, but the stepdaughter predeceased the testatrix. The stepdaughter's daughters claime…
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OTT, Judge.
We consider here whether the Florida Anti-Lapse Statute (§ 732.603, Fla.Stat.) applies to a testamentary gift to a stepdaughter. Concluding that it does not, we reverse an order based on a contrary view.
The will of the decedent named her stepdaughter as residuary beneficiary. The stepdaughter predeceased the testatrix. The stepdaughter left two daughters as her only heirs at law. The trial court entered an order naming these two daughters as beneficiaries of the residue of the estate in preference to appellant, a half brother and only heir-at-law of the testatrix.
When a legatee under a will predeceases the benefactor, the gift lapses. Drafts v. Drafts, 114 So. 2d 473 (Fla. 1st DCA 1959). But if the predeceased legatee is a grandparent, or a direct lineal descendant of a grandparent of the testatrix, then the descendants of the legatee take the gift. § 732.603, Fla.Stat. Obviously, a stepdaughter is not a descendant of her stepparent, and therefore the statute cannot save the gift to her from lapsing. Appellant is entitled to the gift and the trial court should have so ordered.
Appellee purports to find support for the order in Section 732.611, Florida Statutes, but that statute merely directs how heirs will share property passing to them under a will. We see no connection between its purview and the issue presented here.
The order is reversed, and the case is remanded to the court below with instructions to enter an order naming appellant as beneficiary of the property bequeathed to decedent’s stepdaughter. BOARDMAN, Acting C. J., and RYDER, J., concur.
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Hulsh v. Rea R. Hulsh, 431 So. 2d 658 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)…nce she is not a blood relative of the testator, and her descendant would not be protected by the anti-lapse provision of Section 732.603(1), Florida Statutes (1979). See In re Estate of Skinner, 397 So. 2d 1193 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Tubbs v. Teeple, 388 So. 2d 239 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980). . Appellants agree with the trial court that the provisions were irreconcilable, but assert that the error lies in voiding the bequest to Fred instead of the life estates to Rea and Marcella. If, arguendo, the provisions could n…
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Lorenzo v. Medina, 47 So. 3d 927 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)…are, and the brother-in-law was entitled to a fifty percent share. The brother-in-law’s appeal followed. [*929] As a matter of common law, when a will provides for a bequest to a person who predeceases the testator, the gift lapses. Tubbs v. Teeple, 388 So. 2d 239, 239 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980) (“When a legatee under a will predeceases the benefactor, the gift lapses.”). The potentially harsh effects of this common law rule are ameliorated to an extent by the operation of statute. When the predeceased devisee is a d…
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Chauncy v. Dennis LEE Gorden and the Estate of Addison Woollen McNairy (Fla. 5th DCA 2023)…ERT, J., concurring with opinion. I fully agree with and thus concur in the majority opinion. As a matter of common law, because Chauncy’s mother, Nelegene Morgan, died before the testator, her gift under the 1998 Will lapsed. See Tubbs v. Teeple, 388 So. 2d 239, 239 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980) (“When a legatee under a will predeceases the benefactor, the gift lapses.” (citing Drafts v. Drafts, 114 So. 2d 473, 474 (Fla. 1st DCA 1959))). Florida does have an “antilapse” statute—codified at section 732.603, Florida S…
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- Drafts v. Drafts, 114 So. 2d 473 (Fla. 1st DCA 1959)