Abatement of debts and legacies

Abatement of debts and legacies is a common law doctrine of wills that holds that when the equitable assets of a deceased person are not sufficient to satisfy fully all the creditors, their debts must abate proportionately, and they must accept a dividend.

Also, in the case of legacies when the funds or assets out of which they are payable are not sufficient to pay them in full, the legacies abate in proportion, unless there is a priority given specially to any particular legacy. Annuities are also subject to the same rule as general legacies.

The order of abatement is usually:

1. Intestate property
2. The residuary of the estate
3. General Devises—i.e., cash gifts
4. Demonstrative Devises—i.e., cash gifts from a specific account, stocks, bonds, securities, etc.
5. Specific Devises—i.e., specified items of personal property, real property, etc.

Non-probate property—i.e., life insurance policies—do not abate.