Will Anti-Lapse and Substitute Gifts in Nebraska

Short answer Nebraska generally substitutes issue for a deceased devisee who was related to the testator in any degree of kinship, including a devisee already dead when the will was signed. The issue must survive the testator by 120 hours; those at the same kinship degree take equally, and more remote issue take by representation. A contrary intention expressed in the will controls the construction rule. (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-2341, 30-2343.)

State

Nebraska

Statute checked

October 5, 2026

Sources

8 statutes

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At a glance

Instruments and gifts covered	Will devise, including a qualifying class gift (§ 30-2343).
Which devisees qualify	Devisee related to testator in any degree of kinship (§ 30-2343).
Death or failure trigger	Dead at will execution, fails to survive testator, or treated as predeceased (§ 30-2343).
Descendant survival period	Issue must survive testator by 120 hours (§ 30-2343).
Who takes and how	Same-degree issue take equally; remoter issue take by representation (§ 30-2343).
Class gifts	Would-be class devisee counts whether death preceded or followed will execution (§ 30-2343).
Failed gift and residue	Other failed nonresiduary gift enters residue; failed multiperson residuary share shifts proportionately; undisposed estate intestate (§§ 30-2344, 30-2301(1)).
Contrary intent and survival words	Testator's will intention controls; statutory construction applies unless will indicates contrary intent (§ 30-2341).
Alternative gifts and appointments	Deceased-appointee appointment subject to anti-lapse; nongeneral power may reach deceased permissible appointee's descendant (§ 30-4616).
Trust and nonprobate reach	Will-construction rules apply to trust terms and property as appropriate (§ 30-3811.01).

Requirements one by one

Which devisees and issue qualify

Under § 30-2343, a devisee related to the testator in any degree of kinship can qualify if dead when the will was executed, later failing to survive the testator, or treated as predeceased. Substitute issue must survive the testator by 120 hours. Issue at the same kinship degree to the devisee take equally; issue at more remote degrees take by representation.

The same section includes a person who would have taken under a class gift if alive, whether death came before or after will execution. That differs from statutes that exclude an already-deceased class member.

Other failed gifts and contrary will terms

Under § 30-2344(a), a failed nonresiduary devise not saved by § 30-2343 enters the residue. § 30-2344(b) shifts a failed share of a multiperson residue to the other residuary devisees in proportion to their interests. Property still not disposed of by will passes by intestate succession under § 30-2301(1).

§ 30-2341 makes the testator's intention as expressed in the will controlling and applies the construction rules unless a contrary intention is indicated. It gives no stock survival phrase that automatically settles that question.

Appointments and trusts

§ 30-4616(a) makes an appointment to a deceased appointee ineffective subject to § 30-2343. Under § 30-4616(b), a holder of a nongeneral power may appoint to a descendant of a deceased permissible appointee even if the donor did not list that descendant as permissible, unless the creating instrument indicates contrary intent.

§ 30-3811.01 applies will-construction rules to trust terms and property as appropriate. Its wording calls for analysis of the trust interest rather than an assumed result from the will rule alone.

What trips people up

Death before execution does not by itself remove a qualifying class member from § 30-2343. The recipient still needs the required relationship to the testator and issue who survive the testator by 120 hours.

Common questions

Are only children of the testator protected? No. Section 30-2343 says a devisee related to the testator in any degree of kinship, with qualifying surviving issue.

What if a specific gift fails without substitute issue? Section 30-2344(a) sends a failed nonresiduary devise into the residue, subject to § 30-2343.

Statutes and sources

Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-2301, 30-2341, 30-2343, 30-2344, 30-3811.01 and 30-4616. The source fields above contain verbatim official excerpts, section URLs, and access dates.

Source links

Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2301(1) · accessed 2026-10-05

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2341 · accessed 2026-10-05

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2343 · accessed 2026-10-05

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2344(a) · accessed 2026-10-05

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2344(b) · accessed 2026-10-05

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-3811.01 · accessed 2026-10-05

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-4616(a) · accessed 2026-10-05

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-4616(b) · accessed 2026-10-05

This page gives general information about statutory substitute-gift rules, not advice about a particular will or beneficiary. The instrument's words, other law, and the facts can affect the result. Check current official law and consult a licensed adviser before acting.

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