---
title: O.C.G.A. § 53-4-64. Death of beneficiary before will executed or before death of testator.
collection: code
id: 53-4-64
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 53-4-64 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/53-4-64
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/53-4-64.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/53-4-64/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t52-t53-(v40)-2021-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=d23ba203_0#page=447
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES / WILLS / CONSTRUCTION OF WILL; TESTAMENTARY GIFTS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 53-4-64. Death of beneficiary before will executed or before death of testator.

(a) If a beneficiary is dead when the will is executed or otherwise dies before the testator, but has any descendants living at the death of the testator, the testamentary gift, if absolute and without remainder or limitation, shall not lapse but shall vest in the descendants of the beneficiary in the same proportions as if inherited directly from the deceased beneficiary under the intestacy laws of this state.

(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall also apply to a testamentary gift to a class unless there appears a clear intent to the contrary.

(c) If a beneficiary is treated as having predeceased the testator due to a divorce or annulment, as provided in Code Section 53-4-49, or due to the beneficiary being responsible for the death of the testator, as provided in Code Section 53-1-5, the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall apply only to vest the testamentary gift in descendants of the beneficiary who are also descendants of the testator.

## History

Code 1981, § 53-4-64, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10.

## Law Reviews

For article, ‘‘The Time Gap in Wills: Problems Under Georgia’s Lapse Statutes,’’ see 6 Ga. L. Rev. 268 (1972). For article, ‘‘The Time Gap in Wills: Shifting Assets and Shrinking Estates — Obsolescence and Testamentary Planning in Georgia,’’see 6 Ga. L. Rev. 649 (1972). For article, ‘‘Descendible Future Interests in Georgia: The Effect of the Preference for Early Vesting,’’ see 7 Ga. L. Rev. 443 (1973). For article surveying developments in Georgia wills, trusts, and administration of estates law from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 307 (1981). For article, ‘‘Lapse Statutes: Recurring Construction Problems,’’ see 37 Emory L.J. 323 (1988). For survey article on wills, trusts, guardianships, and fiduciary administration for the period from June 1, 2002 to May 31, 2003, see 55 Mercer L. Rev. 459 (2003).

For note, ‘‘Vesting Title in a Murderer: Where is the Equity in the Georgia Supreme Court’s Interpretation of the Slayer Statute in Levenson?,’’ see 45 Ga. L. Rev. 877 (2011).