Ademption

Probate & Legal

The failure of a specific gift in a will because the property was sold, given away, or destroyed before death.

Ademption is what happens when a specific gift in a will cannot be fulfilled. The property is simply no longer part of the estate. It is one of the most common ways a gift in a will can fail.

How Ademption Happens

Ademption applies only to specific gifts of particular, identifiable property. Say your will leaves your 2020 Ford truck to your nephew. If you sell the truck before you die, the gift is adeemed. Your nephew gets no replacement vehicle or cash value. The gift simply fails.

General gifts (like "$10,000 to my nephew") are not subject to ademption. They are paid from the overall estate, not tied to a specific item.

Arizona's Nonademption Protections

Arizona softens the harshness of ademption in certain cases. Under A.R.S. 14-2606, if unpaid proceeds are still connected to the property at death, the beneficiary can claim them. Examples include an outstanding buy price, a condemnation award, or insurance proceeds.

Special protection also applies when a conservator or agent sells property for an incapacitated person. The beneficiary then receives the net sale price as a cash gift. The law recognizes the sale was not the testator's choice.