Entitlement to the estate

Entitlement under a Will

Where the deceased left a valid Will, the executors must identify which beneficiaries are entitled to which property. Unless there is a contrary intention in the Will, then as to:

  1. identifying the property, the Will speaks and takes effect as if it had been executed immediately before the death of the testator

  2. identifying the beneficiaries, the Will speaks from the date of execution

A person may be disqualified from taking under a Will if:

  1. they have induced by undue influence or fraud the making of the gift to them

  2. by their criminal act they have caused the death of the testator

  3. they or their spouse or civil partner have witnessed the Will (subject to exceptions)

If a person lacks or is suspected to lack the capacity to deal with a legacy under a Will it might be wise to consider applying to the Court of Protection for the appointment of a deputy.

A beneficiary must survive the testator or fulfil a condition, if appropriate, in order to take a gift under that testator's Will. If they predecease,

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

Powered by Lexis+®
Latest Private Client News

All in? Court confirms when a settlement is 'made' for the purposes of excluded property (Accuro Trust (Switzerland) SA v The Commissioners for HMRC)

Private Client analysis: This case considered the meaning of 'relevant property' under the settlements regime of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) and, in particular, the time at which this definition is to be tested. The question arose as to whether the trustees of an offshore trust established by a non-UK domiciled settlor were subject to the UK settlements regime in respect of property added to the trust after the settlor became deemed domiciled in the UK, or whether they were exempt from such charges as the trust consisted solely of excluded property. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) held that whether trust property is excluded property is based on the status of the trust at the time that it was established, not at the time that the property in question was added to the settlement. As a result, the trust in this case did consist solely of excluded property and no inheritance tax (IHT) charges arose as a result of either the ten-year anniversary or capital distributions. The FTT was also asked to consider whether their jurisdiction was appellate, or supervisory only. The FTT held that, while their jurisdiction was supervisory, the questions raised by the trustees were relevant in establishing whether HMRC had acted reasonably and that the outcome (ie that the paid IHT should be refunded and that no further IHT was due) would be the same in either case. Written by Katherine Willmott, senior associate solicitor at Foot Anstey LLP.

View Private Client by content type :

Popular documents