An Act to amend the act of March 3, 1901, relating to devises and bequests by will
PL 88-192 (H.R.3190), enacted 12/05/1963

77 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 88-192-DEC. 5, 1963 
345 
fails to appoint and maintain at all times in the District of Columbia 
such resident agent shall not, while such failure continues, be entitled 
to the exemption provided in this section. Whenever any such person 
or entity does not have in the District of Columbia an agent for service 
of process or such agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at 
his registered address, then the said Commissioners or their designee 
shall be the agent for the service of process for such person or entity. 
Service of process on the Commissioners or their designee shall be made 
by delivering to, and leaving with them, or with any person having 
charge of their office, or with their designee, duplicate copies of the 
process accompanied by a fee in the amount of $2.00 and such service 
shall be sufficient service upon such person or entity. In the event of 
such service, the Commissioners, or their designee, shall immediatelv 
cause one of such copies to be forwarded by registered or certified mail, 
addressed to such person or entity at his or its address, as such address 
appears on the records of the Commissioners or their designee. 
Any 
such service shall be returnable in not less than thirty days unless the 
rules of the court issuing such process prescribe another period, in 
which case such prescribed period shall govern. Toothing contained in 
this section shall limit or affect the right to serve any process, notice, 
or demand required or permitted by law to be served on any such 
person or entity in any other manner now or hereafter permitted by 
law." 
Approved December 5, 1963. 
Public Law 88-192 
A N A C T 
December 5, 1963 
To amend the Act of March 3, 1901, relating to devises and bequests by will. 
[H. R. 3190] 
D. C. Code 19-
205. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Re'presentatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That "An Act to 
D. C. "Pour 
establish a code of law for the District of Columbia'', approved March °''*''" *'"'^^*^-
3, 1901, as amended, is amended by adding the following new section 
ai stat. 1433: 
after section 1628 thereof: 
32 stat. S45 
"SEO. 1628a. (a) BEQUESTS OR DEVISES TO TRUSTEE UNDER, OR IN AC-
CORDANCE W I T H TERMS OF, EXISTING TRUSTS.—A devise or bequest may 
be made in a will or codicil, otherwise valid, in form or substance to the 
trustee or trustees under, or in accordance with the terms of, a written 
inter vivos trust (including an unfunded life insurance trust, although 
the settlor has reserved any or all rights of ownership in the insurance 
contracts) which has been executed and is in existence prior to or 
contemporaneously with the execution of such will or codicil and is 
identified in such will or codicil, without regard to the size or character 
of the corpus of such trust, or whether the settlor is the testator or a 
third person. 
"Such devise or bequest shall not be invalid because the trust is 
subject to amendment or modification or may be terminated or revoked 
after the will or codicil is executed (whether by the settlor or any 
other person or persons), nor because the trust instrument or any 
amendment thereto was not executed in the manner required by law 
for wills or codicils. 
346 
PUBLIC LAW 88-192-DEC. 5, 1963 
[77 STAT. 
"Unless the will or codicil otherwise provides— 
"(1) such devise or bequest shall not be invalid because the trust 
was amended or modified after the will or codicil was executed, 
and such devise or bequest shall be given effect in accordance with 
the terms of the trust as they appear in writing on the date of 
death, of the testator, including any such amendment or 
modification; 
"(2) property passing under such devise or bequest shall be 
deemed to pass directly to the trustee or trustees of the inter vivos 
trust and shall become a part of the assets of such trust, and shall 
not be deemed held under a separate testamentary trust; 
"(3) an entire revocation of the trust prior to the death of the 
testator shall invalidate the devise or bequest even though such 
revocation was not effected in the manner provided by law for the 
revocation of wills and codicils ; 
"(4) a termination of the trust, except by way of revocation, in 
accordance with the terms of said trust or by its exhaustion or by 
operation of law or otherwise shall not invalidate the devise or 
bequest. 
"(b) BEQUESTS OR DEVISES TO TRUSTEE UNDER, OR IN ACCORDANCE 
W I T H TERMS OF. TESTAMENTARY TRUSTS.—A devise or bequest may be 
made in a will or codicil, otherwise valid, in form or substance to the 
Trustee or trustees under, or in accordance with the terms of, a testa-
mentary trust established under another valid will or codicil. Such 
devise or bequest shall not be invalid because the testamentary trust or 
the will or codicil establishing such testamentary trust was not in 
existence when the will or codicil containing such devise or bequest 
was executed, if the testator of the will or codicil establishing such tes-
tamentary trust predeceases the testator of the will or codicil 
containing such devise or bequest, and such will or codicil establishing 
such testamentary trust had been or is subsequently admitted to 
probate. 
"Unless the will otherwise provides— 
"(1) property passing under such devise or bequest shall be 
deemed to pass directly to the trustee or trustees of the testa-
mentary trust and shall become a part of the assets of such trust, 
and shall not be deemed held under a separate testamentary trust; 
"(2) a termination of the trust in accordance with the terms of 
said trust or by its exhaustion or by operation of law or otherwise 
shall not invalidate the devise or bequest. 
"The provisions of this section shall apply to any devise or bequest 
made by a testator living on the effective date of this Act or born sub-
sequent thereto, without regard to thp date of execution of the will or 
codicil containing such devise or bequest or of the trust instrument, or 
any amendment thereto: Provided^ howevevy That the provisions of 
this Act shall not be construed as casting any doubt upon the validity 
as heretofore existing of (a) any devise or bequest made by a testator 
who shall have died prior to the effective date hereof, or (b) any devise 
or bequest which does not come within the provisions of this Act." 
SEC. 2. Any provision of law inconsistent with the provisions of 
this Act is hereby repealed. 
Effective date. 
SEO. 3. This Act shall become effective upon the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
Approved December 5, 1963.