Bequest: Definition and How It Works in California

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated September 2026.

A bequest is a gift of property in a will or trust. People use the word loosely to cover any gift, but California law sorts these gifts into more specific categories that determine how each one is treated if the estate runs short of assets.

How it works in California

The Probate Code’s own gift categories don’t use the word “bequest.” Prob. Code, § 21117 instead sorts gifts into six categories: specific, general, demonstrative, general pecuniary, annuity, and residuary. A specific gift names a particular item, such as a named piece of jewelry or a specific parcel of real property. A general gift is paid from the estate’s general assets rather than from one identified item. A residuary gift, under § 21117(f), is “a transfer of property that remains after all specific and general gifts have been satisfied.”

Which category a gift falls into matters most when the estate doesn’t have enough to pay every gift in full, or when a specific item no longer exists at death. See abatement and ademption for what happens in each situation.

Why it matters

For example, a will leaves a specific gift of a coin collection to one grandchild and a general gift of a set dollar amount to another. If the estate has to sell assets to pay debts and taxes, the general gift is more likely to be reduced first, while the coin collection passes intact as long as it still exists.

Common mistakes

Assuming every gift in a will or trust is treated the same way regardless of how it’s worded. Writing a specific gift of an asset the person is likely to sell or replace before death, which risks the gift failing entirely. Using “bequest” and “devise” as if they’re interchangeable legal terms, when the Probate Code defines devise on its own terms and sorts gifts without using the word bequest.

Related terms

• Residuary Estate: what’s left after specific and general gifts, debts, and expenses are paid.
• Testator: the person who makes the gift by writing a will.
• Abatement: the order gifts are reduced in when the estate can’t pay them all.
• Ademption: what happens when the specific property named in a gift no longer exists at death.
• Charitable Remainder Trust: one way a gift can benefit a person during life and a charity afterward.

Part of the California estate planning glossary.