1 Illinois Estate Planning § 8.07

Summary

The Illinois anti-lapse Statute is found at 755 ILCS 5/4-11 and provides how a legacy to a deceased legatee will be distributed, or descended, unless the testator expressly provides otherwise in his or her will. The purpose of the anti-lapse statute is to avoid unintended lapses. Schneller v. Schneller, 356 Ill. 89, 92 (1934); In re Estate of Bulger, 224 Ill. App. 3d 456, 459 (1991). At common law, any provision for a legatee who predeceased the testator lapsed. Kehl v. Taylor, 275 Ill. 346, 352 (1916). This common law rule had harsh consequences in cases of legatees who predeceased, leaving children, who received nothing from the estate as a result of the lapse. The Illinois statute represents a legislative effort to implement the presumed intent of the testator, and it is expected that “the testator made the will in view of the statute, and that he intended to have the statute prevail, unless the contrary appears.” Rudolph v. Rudolph, 207 Ill. 266, 278 (1904); Schneller, 356 Ill. at ...