Ademption is when a specific gift of property in a Will is no longer a part of the estate at the time of probate.
For example, if a testator's Will has a provision to give his Jeep to his niece, but he had sold it some time before his death, then the gift has adeemed and the niece would receive nothing--the gift is no longer part of the probate property.
While the above scenario may at first seem unfair (the testator did promise to give the Jeep to his niece), the law is designed to protect "innocent purchasers," such as the person who bought the Jeep. Without ademption, a purchaser of property would never know whether some beneficiary might pop up later to claim what the purchaser had already paid for.
There are some exceptions to ademption. Money cannot be adeemed. If the uncle had instead left a gift of $10,000 to his niece, and the money was gone at the time of probate, the estate would be responsible for satisfying the gift, perhaps through the sale of other assets.
Also, if the property has been disposed of after the testator has been declared incompetent, or has been disposed of by an agent acting under a power of attorney, then ademption is waived. After the testator's death the beneficiary could claim compensation in lieu of the missing gift.
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