Demonstrative Devise Law and Legal Definition
Demonstrative devises are bequests of specific amount of money or quantity of property payable from a designated source. However if the designated property is insufficient it may be paid from the estate's general assets.
The following are examples of case law discussing demonstrative devise:
Demonstrative legacies are bequests of sums of money, which are not made as a specific gift but are made payable out of a particular fund belonging to the testator. A demonstrative legacy bears some of the characteristics of both general and specific legacies. It partakes of the nature of a general legacy by bequeathing a specified amount and of the characteristic of a specific legacy by pointing out the fund from which the payment is to be made. However, it differs from a specific legacy in the particular that if the fund pointed out from which the payment is to be made fails, resort may be had to the general assets of the estate.[Lenzen v. Miller, 378 Ill. 170 (Ill. 1941)]
Demonstrative devises shall be classed as general devises upon the failure or insufficiency of funds or property out of which payment should be made, to the extent of the insufficiency.[In re Estate of Potter, 469 So. 2d 957, 960 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 4th Dist. 1985)]
