Also known as: natural object of her bounty · natural objects of his bounty · natural objects of their bounty · natural objects of bounty
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The persons whom a testator would naturally be expected to remember and provide for when disposing of property by will. The phrase identifies close family members such as spouses, children, and parents whose relationship to the testator makes them the ordinary objects of testamentary bounty.
Naveen Nanda executes a will while in the hospital. He correctly names his two adult children and his spouse as the people he intends to benefit and explains why he is leaving nothing to a distant cousin. The drafting attorney records that Naveen understands who his natural objects of bounty are and how he wishes to distribute his estate. The will is therefore upheld against a capacity challenge.
Nikhil Narayan signs a new will that leaves his entire estate to a neighbor. Medical records show he repeatedly misidentified his only daughter as a former business associate and could not recall her name during the drafting meeting. Because he did not know the natural objects of his bounty, the court finds he lacked testamentary capacity and denies probate.
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The testator must know in a general way who her close family members are and how she wishes to dispose of her property among them. Occasional memory lapses do not automatically defeat capacity if the testator can still identify those relatives and form an orderly plan at the time of execution.
No. A testator may lawfully choose to disinherit a close relative. The phrase identifies the persons the testator would ordinarily remember. It does not create a legal requirement that any of them must receive a gift.
A state where the testator, the natural objects of bounty, and the charity are all domiciled may have a stronger interest in applying its own rule limiting charitable bequests than the state where the land is located. The purpose of the rule and the parties' connections determine which state's law governs.
…he signed his will to understand the ordinary affairs of life, the value and extent of his property, the persons who were the natural objects of his bounty, and that he was able to intelligently weigh and appreciate his natural obligation to them, will you follow such an instruction? If the prospective juror answers ‘no,’ that he would…