Devise deemed to convey fee simple, when
When someone leaves land or property to another person in a will, but forgets to write 'heirs and assigns,' that is okay. As long as the will does not say the gift is only for that person's lifetime, and does not give the property to someone else after that person dies, the law treats it as a full ownership gift. The person who gets the property owns it completely, forever.
474.480. to , when. — In all devises of lands or other in this state, in which the words "", or "heirs and assigns forever", are omitted, and no expressions are contained in the will whereby it appears that the devise was intended to convey an estate for life only, and no further devise is made of the , to take effect after the death of the to whom the same is given, it shall be understood to be the intention of the thereby to devise an absolute estate in the same, and the devise conveys an estate in fee simple to the devisee, for all of the devised premises.
(RSMo 1939 § 564, A.L. 1955 p. 385 § 277)
Prior revisions: 1929 § 563; 1919 § 551; 1909 § 579
(1957) Where will devised absolutely to testator's widow and then in a subsequent paragraph expressed the "wish and desire" that she will the part devised which remained at her death to his , widow had fee simple estate. Thompson v. Smith (Mo.), 300 S.W.2d 404.
(1959) Devise to mother and sister of testatrix "as joint tenants with right of survivorship" held to evidence intention to devise to the two a joint estate for life with to the survivor, so that of one-half of estate by one of the joint tenants could not affect the right of survivorship granted to the other. Hunter v. Hunter (Mo.), 320 S.W.2d 529.
(1964) Where testator devised residue of property to wife "the same shall be her property as long as she remain a single person" and provided for no gift over in the event wife died without having remarried, court held that wife received a determinable , that quoted words were words of limitation and not of condition and that the gift over in event of remarriage of wife took effect on death of wife. Buschmeyer v. Eikermann (Mo.), 378 S.W.2d 468.
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Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.