The testatrix’s husband and only child had drowned in an accident. She was his administratrix and sole beneficiary under his intestacy. At his death, the husband had been the owner of 51% of the issued shares in a company and had been owed money by the company. The testatrix died not long after her husband, at a time when his estate had not been fully administered and when the shares in the company were still registered in her husband’s name. By clause 3 of her will, the testatrix bequeathed to the defendant ‘all shares which I hold and any other interest or assets which I may have in Sheet Metal Prefabricators (Battersea) Limited’. The executors of her will issued a summons to determine whether that specific bequest was valid or not.
Held: A person absolutely entitled to a share of an unadministered estate ‘does have an interest of a kind’ in the assets comprised in it.
Judges:
Buckley J
Citations:
[1970] Ch 277, (2005) 19 Tru LI 109
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Earnshaw and Others v Hartley CA 31-Mar-1999
An administrator de son tort, who was also a beneficiary, held the estate property on trust, and so could not establish adverse possession against the estate during the period of trusteeship. He held a sufficient interest in the assets already. A . .
Cited – X v A and others ChD 29-Nov-2005
The wife sought confirmation that the trustees of a discretionary marriage settlement created by her husband could release sums which she intended to pay out for charitable purposes.
Held: The trust required money to be released for the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Wills and Probate
Updated: 13 May 2022; Ref: scu.190221
