Succession – Will – Construction – Widow Renouncing Provisions – Acceleration of Provisions to Children – Period of Vesting.
A truster directed his trustees to pay to his wife if she survived him an annuity, and to give her the liferent of a house, and ‘to draw the revenue of all my estate not above disposed of during the life of my said wife, and to accumulate the revenue, after paying my wife’s said annuity, with the principal.’ He then provided that ‘as soon after the death of my said wife as convenient’ certain heritable subjects should be conveyed to three of his children, and that the residue should be divided equally among his children, declaring that if any of them should predecease the term of payment without leaving issue, their provisions should lapse and become part of the residue, unless the predeceasing child left issue, in which case such issue should succeed to the parent’s share. The widow repudiated her testamentary provisions and obtained her legal rights.
Held, on a construction of the deed (rev. judgment of the Second Division), that the provisions to the children of the specific heritable subjects and residue would not vest until the death of the testator’s widow.
Citations:
[1890] UKHL 917
Links:
Jurisdiction:
Scotland
Wills and Probate
Updated: 28 June 2022; Ref: scu.636734