Advancement

A gift of money or property made by a person while alive to his or her child or other legally recognized heir, the value of which the person intends to be deducted from the child's or heir's eventual share in the estate after the giver's death.

An advancement is not the same as a gift or a loan because the person intends that the "advance" of the heir's share of the estate be applied against what the heir would normally inherit. Although sometimes used to describe situations involving both people who have died intestate (without leaving a valid will) and people who have left a will, the term advancement should be used only when there is no valid will. The laws of DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION regulate the distribution of an intestate's property. The term ADEMPTION applies to lifetime gifts that reduce a beneficiary's share under a will.