If a beneficiary does not survive the testator, the devise fails. All gifts made by the Will are subject to a requirement that the beneficiary survives the testator, unless the testator specifies otherwise. Despite this rule, New York law allows for certain bequests to “survive” to the next generation. This rule is referred to as the Anti-Lapse Statute. This provides that if the Will makes a gift to the testator’s children or siblings, and a beneficiary dies before then testator, then the descendants of the deceased beneficiary will inherit whatever was willed to that beneficiary.