Also known as: adeems · adeemed · adeeming · ademption
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
An act by which a testator satisfies or revokes a devise through an inter vivos gift to the devisee or a member of the devisee's family when the testator provides a contemporaneous writing or the devisee provides a written acknowledgment that the gift operates as satisfaction.
Anika Anand executes a will devising $200,000 to her daughter Angela Acosta. One year later Anika transfers $150,000 from her savings account to Angela and writes a note on the same day stating that the transfer counts toward what Angela will receive at death. The note is placed with Angela's papers. At Anika's death the executor treats the transfer as satisfying the devise in part under the rule requiring a contemporaneous writing.
Adrian Aguilar executes a will devising his residence to his niece Alexandra Armstrong. After Adrian becomes incapacitated his attorney-in-fact sells the residence without Adrian's knowledge or consent and deposits the proceeds in a separate account. At Adrian's death the court holds that the sale does not adeem the devise because the conveyance occurred without the testator's full knowledge and consent.
In 1972, Hestor Mary Lewis Anton married Herbert Anton, the father of Gretchen Coy. Gretchen deeded a piece of real property to her stepmother and father, who built a duplex on the property. After Herbert's death in 1976, Mary became the sole owner of the duplex. In 1981, Mary executed a will bequeathing half of her interest in the duplex to Gretchen and the remaining half to her biological son, Robert Lewis, with the remainder of her estate left to Robert and her daughter, Nancy Ezarski. In 1986, Mary suffered a serious automobile accident and subsequently lived in a series of nursing homes while suffering from Huntington’s Chorea. She executed a durable power of attorney authorizing Nancy to manage her financial affairs, effective immediately and remaining in force until Mary's death on December 2, 2003. From 1986 onward, Nancy handled Mary's financial affairs with no evidence of impropriety. On Memorial Day 1998, Nancy and Mary discussed selling the family residence for support, but nursing home staff advised against further financial discussions, after which Nancy sold assets to pay expenses without Mary's knowledge of the duplex sale. By 2003 the duplex was the only remaining asset; Nancy sold it on August 28, 2003, after consulting an attorney and exhausting other funding sources, realizing net proceeds of $133,263 with a balance of $104,317.38 at Mary's death. Evidence of Mary's capacity at the time of sale was limited to nurses' notes indicating periods of confusion in April 2003 and advanced dementia by October 2003, along with Nancy's June 2003 statement that Mary slept almost all the time, though Nancy later testified her mother was not incompetent. After Mary's death, Gretchen filed a claim in probate court for $72,625 based on the will's specific bequest. The district court denied the claim after trial, the court of appeals affirmed, and the Supreme Court of Iowa granted further review.
View caseThe testator's contemporaneous writing stating that the gift operates as satisfaction meets the requirement even without an explicit signature by the devisee. Retention of the writing by the devisee further supports the finding that the gift adeems the devise.
Supporting sources
A sale by an attorney-in-fact does not adeem the devise when the testator lacks knowledge or consent. The beneficiary remains entitled to the unexpended balance of the proceeds.
Supporting sources
Ademption by satisfaction occurs when a lifetime gift replaces a devise with the required writing. Ademption by extinction occurs when specifically devised property is absent from the estate at death without a substitute gift.
Supporting sources
…case, we consider whether the sale of certain property by an attorney-in-fact prior to the death of the testator resulted in ademption of a specific property bequest. The district court found that under the facts and circumstances presented, the bequest was adeemed. The court of appeals affirmed. For the reason set forth…