How do anti-lapse statutes affect gifts to deceased beneficiaries?

Anti-lapse statutes primarily serve to protect gifts made in wills when a beneficiary predeceases the testator (the person who made the will). In jurisdictions that have adopted such statutes, the general effect is that the gift does not fail simply because the beneficiary has died. Instead, the law allows the gift to pass to the living descendants of the deceased beneficiary.

This effectively ensures that the testator's intent is honored in a way that provides for the deceased beneficiary's family or descendants. Such statutes can prevent the gift from going to the estate as "lapsed," which typically might occur if there were no provisions to address the situation.

The other options do not appropriately reflect the function of anti-lapse statutes. The notion of cancellation (as mentioned in one option) is incorrect because the gift remains valid under anti-lapse rules. The requirement to pay debts (in another option) is related to the broader context of estate administration but is not about the impact on the gifts themselves. Lastly, changing a beneficiary's status to contingent does not align with how anti-lapse statutes operate, as they do not convert the status of a gift but rather modify its destination upon the beneficiary's death.