§ 322 EVENTS OF INDEPENDENT SIGNIFICANCE

• Jurisdiction: South Carolina
• Section: Chapter 3 Wills

§ 322 Events of independent significance

The SCPC codifies the common law doctrine allowing the will to refer to events of independent significance to affect the will's dispositions. The events must have other than purely testamentary significance—i.e., some lifetime motive or purpose.¹²⁷ Wills may properly refer to qualifying events which occur even after the execution of the will.¹²⁸ The execution or revocation of the will of one other than the testator may qualify.¹²⁹

Example

The will of Testator (T) provides that B shall inherit ". . . the car that I own at my death." At the time of execution, T owns a ten year old Chevrolet. Subsequently, T purchases a new Mercedes. If T dies owning the Mercedes, B should take the Mercedes. The act of purchasing the Mercedes most probably had lifetime significance (i.e., T wanted to drive a Mercedes) and was not purely testamentary.

Example

The will of Testator (T) devises Blackacre to ". . . the beneficiaries I name on a list I will

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