Interpretation and Distribution of Wills

Introduction

Once a will has been held to be **valid** (Chapter 2), attention turns to what it **means** and what it **does**. A will does not operate like a contract: it takes effect only at the **testator's death**, and by then circumstances are almost always different from those that prevailed at execution. Beneficiaries may have died, property may have been sold or transformed, marriages may have ended, class membership may have changed. This chapter explains how to determine **who takes**, **what they take**, and **what happens when a gift cannot be given effect** — the five **types of gift**, the eight ways in which a gift can **fail**, the **ascertainment of beneficiaries**, and the order of **abatement**.

Assessment focus

For the SQE1 FLK2 assessment, you must be able to **classify** a gift (specific, general, demonstrative, pecuniary, residuary) and apply that classification to **ademption**, **abatement** and **IHT incidence**. You must know the eight ways a gift can fail and the principal statutory savings — **section 33 Wills Act 1837** (lapse), **section 15** (beneficiary-witness), **sections 18A/18C** (divorce), the **Forfeiture Act 1982**, and **section 184 Law of Property Act 1925** (commorientes). The case law is narrow and concentrated: be familiar with **Re Slater**, **Marley v Rawlings**, **Andrews v Partington** and **Re DWS**. Questions are single best answer questions set in realistic client scenarios; you will be expected to **apply** these rules, not merely recall them. This is a closed-book assessment.

Study tips

1) Memorise the **five categories of gift** and what turns on each (ademption, abatement, IHT). 2) The decisive wording is usually the possessive **'my'**: 'my shares' (specific — adeemable) versus 'shares' (general — PRs must purchase). 3) For **section 33**, lock in the **two limits**: beneficiary must be a **descendant of the testator**, and must leave **issue who survive the testator**. 4) Distinguish **ademption** (subject-matter gone) from **lapse** (beneficiary predeceased). 5) Learn the **order of abatement**: residue → general → demonstrative (shortfall) → specific + demonstrative (funded portion). 6) Remember **section 33A Wills Act 1837** (inserted by the Estates of Deceased Persons (Forfeiture Rule and Law of Succession) Act 2011): a beneficiary who forfeits or disclaims is treated as having died immediately before the testator, so section 33 can now save the killer's (or disclaiming descendant's) issue — reversing **Re DWS** for wills.