In Re Buell's Estate

At early common law, since the beneficiary in a will predeceased the testatrix, the bequest would have lapsed and the property would have been distributed as if upon intestacy. 1 Underhill on the Law of Wills, 436, § 324; Scott v. Ford, 52 Or. 288, at 294, 97 P. 99 (1908). Under the Oregon anti-lapse statute, however, it is clear that if the plaintiff had been in fact the heir of the body of Emma A. Wilkinson the bequest would not have lapsed and the plaintiff would have taken the estate. The only question at issue therefore, is whether the bequest lapsed by reason of the fact that the…