Definition
"All my property in A" is a testamentary phrase used in wills to describe a bequest or devise of all property — real, personal, or both — that the testator holds within a specific geographic location, typically designated by a place name (a county, town, state, or other locality). The phrase operates as a description by situs, meaning it limits the gift to property situated in the named place rather than conveying all property the testator owns generally.
The phrase is conventionally construed to pass every species of property the testator holds at the named location at the time of death, subject to the interpretive question of what "in A" encompasses: whether it reaches only land physically located there, or also includes personal property associated with that place (such as debts owed there, goods stored there, or accounts held there). Courts have generally resolved ambiguity in favor of the broader construction, in keeping with the principle that testamentary gifts are to be given their full intended effect.
Why It Matters in Research
The primary research challenge with this phrase is that it appears in treatises and case law almost exclusively in the context of exceptions and limitations — specifically, the rule that "all my property in A" excepts, by implication, any property the testator holds outside of A. This connects directly to the doctrine of exception by description: a geographically limited gift implicitly excludes what falls outside its geographic scope, even if the testator holds other property of the same kind elsewhere.
Researchers working with historical wills litigation should be alert to two interpretive disputes that recur in older case law: (1) whether "in A" refers to the situs of the property at the date of the will or the date of death, particularly where personal property may have moved; and (2) whether after-acquired property within A passes under the phrase. The general rule on after-acquired property favors inclusion — a will speaks at death — but historical sources handle this inconsistently.
The phrase also surfaces in the context of the ambulatory nature of wills and the doctrine of lapse when property "in A" is sold or removed prior to death. In such cases, courts must determine whether the gift adeems. Researchers tracing ademption doctrine in historical sources will find this phrase closely associated with that analysis.
Jurisdictional variation in how courts characterize property situs — particularly for intangibles — means that the same phrase could yield different results depending on the forum, and older sources predating modern conflicts-of-law rules may not reflect current treatment.
Historical Dictionary Support
Rapalje and Lawrence do not provide a standalone entry for this phrase. Their relevant authority appears under EXCEPT, where the citation to 8 Com. Dig. 468 points to the principle that a geographically limited gift — "all my property in A" — functions as an implied exception of property located elsewhere. The Comyns Digest passage supports the inference-of-exclusion reading: the testator's specification of place is treated as a deliberate limitation, not mere description, so property outside the named location does not pass under the gift even in the absence of an express residuary clause covering it.
What historical sources largely omit is any sustained treatment of the situs question for personal property, which was far less theoretically developed in early common law than the rules governing real property by location. Researchers should not rely on older dictionary entries or digest entries for guidance on how the phrase applies to intangibles, bank accounts, or securities held in a named jurisdiction — those questions require resort to later case law and conflicts materials.
Jurisdictional Note
Courts in civil law jurisdictions and those applying community property rules may analyze a geographically limited testamentary phrase differently, particularly where the named location is a separate marital domicile or where property in that place is partially community-owned. Researchers dealing with wills affecting property across multiple states should treat historical common law construction as a starting point only.