Any expenses incurred by the personal representatives between the date of the testator's death and the date of the distribution of the property or its net sale proceeds to the specific legatees must be borne by those legatees. Those expenses will

A testator of course can leave a legacy to anyone he wishes, including to minor children or remoter issue. Such legacies can either be vested, meaning that the minor is entitled to the legacy outright, or contingent, where a Will provides that the legacy is payable if and when the minor reaches adulthood or some other age. If the minor does not survive, the gift lapses and falls into the residuary estate. It is not specified in this Q&A whether the instant Will makes the gifts outright, but not to be released until the grandchild turns 21, or whether the gift is contingent on their turning 21. A gift to a beneficiary

Whether a legacy is contingent or vested will depend on the precise construction of the wording in the Will, in particular whether the word ‘upon attaining the age of 25’ creates a contingency (and this will depend on construction of the whole clause). A contingent legacy is a gift to which a beneficiary will not be entitled until the occurrence of a particular event, eg attaining a specified age or surviving another person. If the beneficiary dies before the event happens, their estate receives nothing and the gift will either be the subject of a substitutionary gift or, failing that, fall into residue. Contingent legacies can result in trusts arising. For example, see Precedent for an 18–25 trust in a Will: To a minor contingent

On the testator’s death, the legatee is aged 20, but the legacy in the Will is expressed to be contingent on the legatee attaining the age of 25. Assuming the legatee has the necessary mental capacity to do so, as well as being of full age, the legatee's interest is capable of being

For information on when grossing-up is required, see Practice Note: Grossing up and partly exempt estates, in particular, the section entitled 'When is grossing up required?' Note that for transfers on death, where the residuary estate passes entirely to non-exempt beneficiaries, grossing up is not relevant regardless of whether or not a specific legacy is tax-free

For the purposes of this Q&A, we have assumed that the merger took place prior to the death of the testator. Before considering the question of whether one of two shares ought to fail, it is important to consider the position of the bequests to the charities generally and whether the gifts fail in their entirety. The purpose of Charities Act 2011, s 311 is to save gifts to charities which merge prior to the gift taking effect. However, there is a general concern that the drafting of the legislation is flawed and will not save a legacy to a charity if the Will is drafted in such a way as to require the original charity to exist at the date

This Q&A does not address the tax implications of the proposed appointment. The trustees of the settlement, like any beneficiary of the estate, have a chose in action from the date of death (the right to receive the property left to them unless it is required for the purposes of the administration). They can, therefore, make an appointment of their rights under the Will. If the terms of the settlement permit it, the trustees could simply resolve in writing to advance the chose in

Transfers of value made on death By section 4(1) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984), on a person's death inheritance tax (IHT) is chargeable as if immediately before their death they had made a transfer of value, and the value transferred by it had been equal to the value of their estate immediately before their death. Following IHTA 1984, s 38 the chargeable legacies will each need to be grossed up in order to find the gross legacy which, after deduction

In the circumstances described in the question, that is where the reference to a beneficiary is clearly wrong, an application to court for an order to rectify the Will may not be an appropriate course of action. The circumstances of the question appear to be a matter of construction rather than rectification. Where the identity of a beneficiary in a Will is unclear, the executors may be able to distribute the estate to the person who they believe to be the correct beneficiary, subject to obtaining a prior indemnity from that beneficiary. The executors may also take out indemnity insurance. Alternatively, the Will may give the executors the power to take action without the risk

The surviving partner may have an interest in possession (IIP) under a trust in the deceased’s share of the property. Alternatively, the right to reside may consist of a tenancy or contractual licence to occupy. The exact nature of the interest will depend on all the circumstances, in particular the terms of the Will. Interest in possession For a discussion of when a right of residence for life creates an IIP, see Q&As: • Does a right of residence for life create an interest in possession (IIP) trust? • Does a life interest in a will give a co-owner

The nature of the legacy to the non-residuary beneficiaries will depend on the construction of the Will. Legacies can be divided into three types: 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 demonstrative legacy is a pecuniary legacy payable out of a particular

The trustees specified in the Will (who may be the executors) may have been given sufficient power of advancement under section 32 of the Trustee Act 1925 in the Will, in which case, the trustees could make a settled advance in favour of the child, thereby deferring the age of entitlement. See Practice Note: Trustees—power of advancement. That would be preferable to making an application to court, as it would save time and avoid the costs of the application.