A testatrix left to trustees her whole property, consisting principally of heritage, with directions to sell and dispose of it, and after payment of legacies to pay over the residue ‘to my heir-at-law, whom failing, to my next of kin.’ These instructions were carried out, and in a competition between cousins of the testatrix claiming as her next of kin, and a cousin’s child claiming as her heir-at-law, Held (aff. judgment of Court of Session) that the testatrix did not by ‘heir-at-law’ mean her heirs in mobilibus, but her heir in heritage – her intention being to give the residue to the person who would have succeeded to it had a sale not been necessary.
Judges:
Lord Chancellor Cairns, Lords Chelmsford and Selborne
Citations:
[1874] UKHL 496, 11 SLR 496
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Wills and Probate
Updated: 22 November 2022; Ref: scu.650214