I am administering an estate with a will containing a specific gift of the Testator’s property.
The gift is worded as follows : ‘I give free of tax my property (or the future proceeds of sale of) known as 1 Main Street… to such of my daughters A & B as shall survive me and if more than one in equal shares’.
The residue passes to A only. At the date of the Testator’s death, the property had been sold to release funds for care fees, and the estate now comprises one bank account containing £40,000.
My understanding is that the gift is adeemed because the property was not owned by the Testator at the date of her death, and that the reference to future sale proceeds does not create a replacement legacy in these circumstances.
I would welcome members views on this. I am familiar with the more detailed standard clause which substitutes a cash legacy if the property has been sold before death, but have not come across a simple gift expressed this way before. A & B are estranged, so are unlikely to agree any variation of the will.
Many thanks in advance.
Sue Hanley
Hethertons Solicitors