118 STAT. 1781 PUBLIC LAW 108–374—OCT. 27, 2004 as ‘brothers’, ‘sisters’, ‘nieces’, or ‘nephews’, are construed to include both types of relationships. ‘‘(B) MEANING OF ‘HEIRS’ AND ‘NEXT OF KIN’, ETC.; TIME OF ASCERTAINING CLASS.—A devise of trust or restricted interest in land or an interest in trust personalty to the testator’s or another designated person’s ‘heirs’, ‘next of kin’, ‘relatives’, or ‘family’ shall mean those persons, including the spouse, who would be entitled to take under the provisions of this Act for nontestamentary disposition. The class is to be ascertained as of the date of the testator’s death. ‘‘(C) TIME FOR ASCERTAINING CLASS.—In construing a devise to a class other than a class described in subpara graph (B), the class shall be ascertained as of the time the devise is to take effect in enjoyment. The surviving issue of any member of the class who is then dead shall take by right of representation the share which their deceased ancestor would have taken. ‘‘(3) MEANING OF ‘DIE WITHOUT ISSUE’ AND SIMILAR PHRASES.—In any devise under this chapter, the words ‘die without issue’, ‘die without leaving issue’, ‘have no issue’, or words of a similar import shall be construed to mean that an individual had no lineal descendants in his lifetime or at his death, and not that there will be no lineal descendants at some future time. ‘‘(4) PERSONS BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK.—In construing provi sions of this chapter relating to lapsed and void devises, and in construing a devise to a person or persons described by relationship to the testator or to another, a person born out of wedlock shall be considered the child of the natural mother and also of the natural father. ‘‘(5) LAPSED DEVISES.—Subject to the provisions of sub section (b), where the testator devises or bequeaths a trust or restricted interest in land or trust personalty to the testator’s grandparents or to the lineal descendent of a grandparent, and the devisee or legatee dies before the testator leaving lineal descendents, such descendents shall take the interest so devised or bequeathed per stirpes. ‘‘(6) VOID DEVISES.—Except as provided in paragraph (5), and if the disposition shall not be otherwise expressly provided for by a tribal probate code approved under section 206 (25 U.S.C. 2205), if a devise other than a residuary devise of a trust or restricted interest in land or trust personalty fails for any reason, such interest shall become part of the residue and pass, subject to the provisions of subsection (b), to the other residuary devisees, if any, in proportion to their respective shares or interests in the residue. ‘‘(7) FAMILY CEMETERY PLOT.—If a family cemetery plot owned by the testator at his decease is not mentioned in the decedent’s will, the ownership of the plot shall descend to his heirs as if he had died intestate. ‘‘(j) HEIRSHIP BY KILLING.— ‘‘(1) HEIR BY KILLING DEFINED.—As used in this subsection, ‘heir by killing’ means any person who knowingly participates, either as a principal or as an accessory before the fact, in the willful and unlawful killing of the decedent.
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