Abatement of gifts follows a specific sequence. Which category abates last when assets are insufficient?

• A. Intestate estate
• B. Residuary
• C. General legacy
• D. Demonstrative legacy

Answer: (D)

Abatement is about paying debts and gifts in a fixed order when there aren’t enough assets to cover everything. The idea is to protect the gifts that are most flexible or least certain and to preserve the decedent’s plan as expressed in the will, to the extent possible.

Demonstrative legacies are a special kind of bequest: they are a gift that is tied to a specific source, but if that source doesn’t provide enough, the unpaid portion can be paid from the general estate. Because of that mixed character, many systems treat demonstrative legacies as the last to be reduced. The other categories—intestate property (the portion that would pass by law if there were no will) and the residuary estate (the remainder after specific gifts are paid), as well as general legacies (unfunded monetary gifts)—are given priority because they are either legally foundational or less tied to a particular funding source. When funds are insufficient, the non-designated assets are used up first, and only after those are exhausted does the shortfall spill into the demonstrative gifts. That’s why demonstrative legacies are the last to abate.