term:

Anti-Lapse Statute

anti-lapse statute n

: a statute providing that in the event a person who would have received a gift under a will dies before the person who made the will dies then the gift is distributed to the heirs of the person who would have received the gift compare lapse

Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.