Testacy

The condition or state of leaving a valid will at one's death to direct the distribution of one's estate.

testacy

n. dying with a will (a testament). It is compared to "intestacy," which is dying without a will. (See: intestacy)

TESTACY. The state or condition of dying after making a will, which was valid at the time of testator's death.

A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier. Published 1856.

References in periodicals archive

She first addresses the general law governing cases of testacy (where a valid will exists), but the bulk of the material focuses on issues of intestacy and includes treatments on the inheritance rights of marital and posthumously born children, adopted children, non-marital children, stepchildren/foster children, posthumously conceived children, artificially created children, and children created as the result of surrogacy arrangements.

The inheritance rights of children in the United States; cases and materials

Gregory deals here with issues of testacy and intestacy.

The legal legacy of Pope Gregory I: in life and in letters

253, 253 (1964) (stating that "[i]t is safe to sum up that, from beginning to end, intestacy was the rule and testacy the exception, and both very much so").

Undue influence and the law of wills: a comparative analysis

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