Where a bequest is made to a person by a particular description, and there is no person in existence at the testator's death who answers the description, the bequest is void.
Exception.-If property is bequeathed to a person described as standing in a particular degree of kindred to a specified individual, but his possession of it is deferred until a time later than the deathofthe testator, by reason of a prior bequest or otherwise;
and if a person answering the description isalive at the death of the testator, or comes into existence between that event and such later time, the property shall, at such later time, go to that person, or, if he is dead, to his representatives.
Illustrations:
(i) A bequeaths 1,000 rupees to the eldest son of B. At the death of the testator, B has no son. The bequest is void.
(ii) A bequeaths 1,000 rupees to B for life, and after his death to the eldest son of C. At the death of the testator, C had no son. Afterwards, during the life of B, a son is born to C. Upon B's death the legacy goes to .C's son.
(iii) A bequeaths 1,000 rupees to B for life, and after his death to the eldest son of C. At the death of the testator, C had no son. Afterwards, during the life of B, a son, named D, is born to C. D dies, then B dies. The legacy goes to the representative of D.
(iv) A bequeaths his estate of Green Acre to be for life, and at his decease, to the eldest son of C. Up to the death of B, C has had no son. The bequest to C's eldest son is void.
(v) A bequeaths 1,000 rupees to the eldest son of C, to be paid to him after the death of B. At the death of the testator C has no son, but a son is afterwards born to him during the life of B and is alive at B's death. C's son is entitled to the 1,000 rupees.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 112
Section 112 renders void any immediate bequest made to a person by a particular description who is not in physical or legal existence at the testator's death, subject to a vital exception for prior interests.
The section contains a crucial exception: if a prior interest is created by the will in favor of a living person (e.g., 'to A for life, and upon A's death to the first son of B'), the bequest to the unborn person is NOT void under Section 112, provided the person answering the description comes into existence before the determination of the prior life estate.
Section 112 is a critical trap for testators wishing to benefit future grandchildren. A direct gift 'to my future grandson' fails immediately if no grandson is born or conceived at the testator's death. To make a valid gift to an unborn descendant, the testator must create an intervening life estate (e.g., to the son for life), thereby bringing the gift safely under the Exception to Section 112.