SRA Wills and Succession 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows certain people to apply to court for reasonable financial provision from an estate. Which of the following is NOT a qualifying applicant?
- A spouse or civil partner of the deceased
- A child of the deceased
- A creditor owed money by the deceased (Correct answer)
- A person maintained by the deceased immediately before death
Correct answer: A creditor owed money by the deceased
Creditors are not qualifying applicants under the 1975 Act; they have separate remedies to claim against the estate for debts owed to them.
Question 2: Under the intestacy rules, a surviving spouse must survive the deceased by at least how many days to inherit under the statutory intestacy provisions?
- 7 days
- 14 days
- 28 days (Correct answer)
- 56 days
Correct answer: 28 days
Under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (as amended by the Law Reform (Succession) Act 1995), a surviving spouse must survive the deceased by at least 28 days to benefit under the intestacy rules.
Question 3: What is a 'specific legacy' in the law of wills?
- A gift of a fixed sum of money charged on the estate generally
- A gift of a particular, identified item of property forming part of the testator's estate (Correct answer)
- A gift of the residue of the estate after all other gifts are satisfied
- A conditional gift that only takes effect upon a specified event
Correct answer: A gift of a particular, identified item of property forming part of the testator's estate
A specific legacy is a gift of a particular, identifiable item belonging to the testator, such as 'my diamond engagement ring' or 'my shares in ABC Ltd'; it is subject to the doctrine of ademption.
Question 4: What does the 'armchair rule' of will construction permit a court to do?
- Rewrite an ambiguous will to reflect what the court considers the fairest outcome
- Consider the surrounding circumstances known to the testator at the time the will was made in order to resolve ambiguities (Correct answer)
- Allow oral evidence from witnesses to override the written terms of a will
- Apply a standard form interpretation to wills drafted without legal assistance
Correct answer: Consider the surrounding circumstances known to the testator at the time the will was made in order to resolve ambiguities
The armchair rule allows the court to 'sit in the armchair of the testator' and consider facts and circumstances known to the testator when the will was executed in order to interpret ambiguous language.
Question 5: Under section 15 of the Wills Act 1837, what is the consequence of a will being witnessed by a person who is also a named beneficiary?
- The entire will is rendered invalid
- The gift to the witnessing beneficiary (or their spouse/civil partner) is void, but the will itself remains valid (Correct answer)
- The witness must disclaim the gift in a signed written statement
- The gift is reduced to half its value but does not fail entirely
Correct answer: The gift to the witnessing beneficiary (or their spouse/civil partner) is void, but the will itself remains valid
Section 15 of the Wills Act 1837 renders void any gift to a witness or their spouse/civil partner, but the will itself remains valid and the attestation by that witness still counts.
Question 6: What is 'abatement' in the context of estate administration?
- The revocation of a grant of probate by the Probate Registry
- The proportional reduction of legacies when the estate is insufficient to satisfy all gifts and debts in full (Correct answer)
- The forfeiture of a gift by a beneficiary who has acted fraudulently
- The lapse of a gift because the beneficiary predeceased the testator
Correct answer: The proportional reduction of legacies when the estate is insufficient to satisfy all gifts and debts in full
Abatement is the process by which legacies are reduced in a set order (residuary gifts first, then general legacies, then specific legacies) when the estate cannot satisfy all gifts after payment of debts.
Question 7: Under which exceptional circumstances may a person under 18 make a valid will in England and Wales?
- When a court grants a specific order permitting the minor to make a will
- When the minor is in actual military service or is a mariner at sea (Correct answer)
- When the minor is married and has the written consent of their spouse
- When the minor holds property valued above a threshold set by the Probate Registry
Correct answer: When the minor is in actual military service or is a mariner at sea
Section 11 of the Wills Act 1837 preserves the 'privileged will' exception for soldiers in actual military service and mariners at sea, who may make informal wills regardless of age.
SRA Wills and Succession 2
The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 allows certain people to apply to court for reasonable financial provision from an estate.
Which of the following is NOT a qualifying applicant?