A man created a legally valid will 12 years ago, which consists of the following stipulations:
(1) The man bequeaths his ABC plc shares to his friend's two daughters, to be divided equally between them.
(2) The remainder of the man's estate is to be given to his sister.
There are no other relevant clauses in the will. The man passed away last month, and although one of his friend's daughters passed away last year, the other daughter is still alive. The man's sister is also alive.
How will the man's estate be distributed?
A man created a legally valid will 12 years ago, which consists of the following stipulations:
(1) The man bequeaths his ABC plc shares to his friend's two daughters, to be divided equally between them.
(2) The remainder of the man's estate is to be given to his sister.
There are no other relevant clauses in the will. The man passed away last month, and although one of his friend's daughters passed away last year, the other daughter is still alive. The man's sister is also alive.
How will the man's estate be distributed?
The friend's surviving daughter will receive half of the ABC plc shares, and the other half of the shares will pass to the man's sister, who will also inherit the rest of the estate.
(C) The man's friend left behind a daughter and sister. According to the will, the friend's surviving daughter will inherit half of the shares, and the other half will pass to the sister as the residuary beneficiary.
This means that the surviving daughter will receive half of the shares as specified in the will, while the other half of the shares will lapse and fall into the residue, passing to the man's sister as the residuary beneficiary.
Options (A) and (B) are incorrect, and the partially lapsed gift of shares will not affect the validity of the will itself, hence option (D) is incorrect too.
Additionally, the intestacy rules will not apply, so option (E) is also incorrect.