A bequest is a gift left in a will. In older legal usage it meant specifically a gift of personal property — furniture, jewelry, cash, shares — as distinct from a devise, which meant land. Modern wills and modern courts have largely stopped policing that line, and in most contemporary drafting the words are used interchangeably.
Bequests come in recognizable types. A specific bequest identifies a particular item: this ring, these hundred shares of a named company. A general bequest names a value rather than an object, such as a fixed sum, payable from the estate generally. A demonstrative bequest sits between them, promising an amount but pointing to a particular source to satisfy it.
The type determines what happens when things change. If you make a specific bequest of an item and no longer own it at death, the gift usually fails outright and the beneficiary receives nothing in its place. A general bequest of a sum survives that problem but competes with other cash gifts if the estate is short.
The practical drafting lesson is precision without over-specificity. Identify the beneficiary clearly enough that there is no argument about which relative you meant, and describe the property well enough to be found — but avoid pinning a gift to an asset likely to be sold, replaced, or renamed before you die.
Frequently asked
- Is a bequest different from a devise?
- Historically yes: a bequest passed personal property and a devise passed real estate, with legacy sometimes reserved for gifts of money. That tripartite distinction mattered when land and chattels were governed by separate bodies of law. Today most states treat the terms as functionally equivalent and interpret the will by its evident intent. You may still see all three words in a document, usually because the drafter wanted belt-and-braces coverage.
- What happens if I leave someone an asset I no longer own?
- Generally the gift fails, a doctrine called ademption, and the beneficiary receives nothing rather than a cash equivalent. If you bequeath a specific vehicle and sell it two years later, that beneficiary is usually out. Some states apply exceptions where the asset was sold by an agent under a power of attorney, but the rules vary. Reviewing specific bequests after any major sale is the reliable fix.
- Can I bequeath crypto to a specific person?
- You can assign ownership that way, and doing so is often sensible where one heir understands the asset and others do not. The limit is that a bequest transfers title, not control. Nothing in a will produces a seed phrase or clears an exchange's identity verification, and a will becomes a public record in probate, so credentials must never be written into it. Pair the bequest with a secure access plan.