½Û×ÓÊÓƵ

View the related practice notes about General legacy

Contents of Wills—legacies

The terms 'legacy' or 'bequest' are generally only applied to a gift of money or a personal item but they can also, in certain circumstances, refer to the gift or devise of land. In addition, the term 'legacy' may or may not include annuity, according to the context. This was explained by Sir William Page Wood, VC in Gaskin v Rogers:'…if you find simply the word "legacy" used, and a direction to apportion the property amongst the legatees, unless there be something apparent on the face of the Will which shows that the testator has not used the word in its ordinary legal signification, it will include annuitants. The expression 'pecuniary legatees' in itself, I do not think, would go further than this—it would exclude specific legatees, that is, legatees of mere chattels, but it would have no effect in excluding, prima facie, annuitants from taking the same benefit as they would have taken if the word had been 'legatees' instead of 'pecuniary legatees'. All these rules of construction are...

Payment of legacies

Identification of beneficial interestsThe personal representatives (PRs) of an estate must identify:•the beneficiary or beneficiaries entitled to each particular legacy•what each beneficiary is entitled to receive, and•the time at which each legacy should be distributedExecutor's yearPRs have at least one year from the date of death before beneficiaries can call on them to distribute any part of the estate. Even after one year, the PRs may not yet be in a position to distribute the estate.Deciding to distributeBefore deciding to commence distribution of legacies, PRs must consider if there is reason to delay distribution due to other aspects of the estate administration being incomplete or potential issues arising, such as:•outstanding tax liabilities•outstanding debts•unknown beneficiaries•rectification action in relation to the Will•family provision claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975•variation or disclaimer, or•any other uncertainties regarding the estateBeneficiariesDuty to distributePRs must distribute to the persons entitled under the deceased's Will or under the intestacy rules. Before distributing, they must satisfy themselves as to the correct identity of the...

View the related precedents about General legacy

Will—for unmarried couple with children using discretionary trust

Will—for unmarried couple with children using discretionary trust FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Potential changes to Wills Act 1837 The Law Commission review of Wills has issued a final report on 16 May 2025 which includes in volume II a draft bill to replace the Wills Act 1837. For information on these changes, including draft legislation published, see Practice Note: Hot topic—modernising Wills and Modernising wills: Final Report Volume II: draft Bill for a new Wills Act. 1 Revocation I [full name of testator] of [address of testator] revoke all former testamentary dispositions made by me [to the extent that and so far only as they affect my property of every kind in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland] and declare this to be my last Will. [I also revoke all previous appointments of guardians of my minor children made by me before the date of this Will.] 2 [ Territorial scope, declaration of domicile and choice of law 2.1 [This Will shall affect only my...

Will—unmarried, divorced, separated with children, no partner

Will—unmarried, divorced, separated with children, no partner FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Potential changes to Wills Act 1837 The Law Commission review of Wills has issued a final report on 16 May 2025 which includes in volume II a draft bill to replace the Wills Act 1837. For information on these changes, including draft legislation published, see Practice Note: Hot topic—modernising Wills and Modernising wills: Final Report Volume II: draft Bill for a new Wills Act. STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime. Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025) which received Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, implements legislation to abolish the remittance basis of taxation and replace it with a residence-based regime, commencing on 6 April 2025. FA 2025 also replaces domicile as the key factor in establishing liability to inheritance tax. Other changes include amendment of the rules determining excluded property status, the abolition of protected settlements status of offshore trusts, and changes to overseas workday relief. For information on these changes, see Practice Notes:...

View the related q&as about General legacy

How does abatement apply where a testator has left £50,000 to trustees on discretionary trusts and £50,000 to a family member, but there are insufficient funds to settle the legacies in their entirety?

How does abatement apply where a testator has left £50,000 to trustees on discretionary trusts and £50,000 to a family member, but there are insufficient funds to settle the legacies in their entirety? Whether abatement applies depends on the nature of the legacies, which in turn depends on the construction of the Will. There are three types of legacy: general, specific and demonstrative. A general legacy is a gift of non-specific property or money provided out of the testator's general estate that is not a defined or identifiable part of that estate. A specific legacy is a legacy of defined or identifiable property from the testator's estate. Such property must be sufficiently defined as the court tends to prefer to construe a legacy as general. A demonstrative legacy is a pecuniary legacy payable out of a particular fund. If both legacies are general legacies, and the

What happens to a gift of shares in a Will where the company has merged and the value of the investment has changed since the Will was signed?

What happens to a gift of shares in a Will where the company has merged and the value of the investment has changed since the Will was signed? The question requires consideration of the following matters: • Whether the gift of shares is a specific or a general legacy • Whether the shares, as a result of the merger, have undergone a change in substance, or only a change in form, and • Whether the change in value of the shares since execution of the Will affects the gift Specific legacy If the gift of shares is a specific legacy and the 'new' shares are effectively shares in a new entity, the merger will probably result in ademption of the gift . However, if there has only been a change in name and form of the subject shares, then the gift will not adeem. Change in substance v change in form In Re Clifford, a testator gave a specific legacy of shares in a named company where the company...

View the related News about General legacy

Question of the week: How does abatement apply where a testator has left £50,000 to trustees on discretionary trusts and £50,000 to a family member, but there are insufficient funds to settle the legacies in their entirety?

This Q&A considers how abatement applies where a testator has left £50,000 to trustees on discretionary trusts and £50,000 to a family member, but there are insufficient funds to settle the legacies in their entirety.