A bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of
personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology,
"bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest".
Etymology Bequest come from Old English becwethan,
"to declare or express in words" — cf. "quoth".
Interpreting bequests Part of the process of probate involves
interpreting the instructions in a will. Some wordings that define the scope of a
bequest have specific interpretations. "All the estate I own" would involve all
of the decedent's possessions at the moment of death.
A conditional bequest is a bequest that will be granted only if a particular
event has occurred by the time of its operation. For example, a testator might
write in the will that "Mary will receive the house held in trust if she
is married" or "if she has children," etc.
An executory bequest is a bequest that will be granted only if a particular
event occurs in the future. For example, a testator might write in the will that
"Mary will receive the house held in trust set when she marries" or "when she
has children". Explaining bequests
In microeconomics theorists have engaged the issue of bequest from the
perspective of consumption theory, in which they seek to explain the
phenomenon in terms of a bequest motive. US Tax Consequences
= For the recipient= In order to calculate a taxpayer's
income tax obligation, the gross income of the taxpayer must be determined.
Under Section 61 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code gross income is "all income
from whatever source derived". On its face, the receipt of a bequest would
seemingly fall within gross income and thus be subject to tax. However, in
other sections of the code, exceptions are made for a variety of things that do
not need to be included in gross income. Section 102(a) of the Code makes an
exception for bequests stating that "Gross income does not include the value
of property acquired by gift, bequest, or inheritance." In general this means
that the value or amount of the bequest does not need to be included in a
taxpayer's gross income. This rule is not exclusive, however, and there are
some exceptions under Section 102(b) of the code where the amount of value must
be included. There is great debate about whether or not bequests should be
included in gross income and subject to income taxes, however there has been
some type of exclusion for bequests in every Federal Income Tax Act.
= For the donor= One reason that the recipient of a
bequest is usually not taxed on the bequest is because the donor may be
taxed on it. Donors of bequests may be taxed through other mechanisms such as
federal wealth transfer taxes. Wealth Transfer taxes, however, are usually
imposed against only the very wealthy. References
^ Black's Law Dictionary 8th ed, ^ One or more of the preceding
sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:
Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. "Bequest". Encyclopædia Britannica 3. Cambridge
University Press. p. 761. ^ Law.com, Law Dictionary: all the
estate I own ^ "US CODE: Title 26,61. Gross income
defined". Law.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
^ a b "US CODE: Title 26,102. Gifts and inheritances". Law.cornell.edu.
Retrieved 2013-01-20. ^ a b c Samuel A. Donaldson. Federal
Income Taxation of Individuals: Cases, Problems and Materials, 2nd Edition, St.
Paul: Thomson/West, 93 External links
merriam-webster.com