Chattels personal meaning

Original news Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 (Commencement) Order 2014 LNB News 01/08/2014 57; SI 2014/2039: With effect from 1 October 2014, a spouse or civil partner of someone who dies without leaving a valid will will take the entire intestate estate where there are no issue, and a larger allocation where issue are left. These revisions flow from the commencement of the Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 (ITPA 2014). What does ITPA 2014 mean for the routine work of wills and probate practitioners? ITPA 2014 takes effect on 1 October 2014. Among the most notable shifts introduced by ITPA 2014 is the overhaul of the intestacy rules in section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925). The legislation secures substantially enhanced financial provision for a surviving spouse where a person dies intestate Changes to intestacy rules—person dies leaving no issue Under the present intestacy scheme, when an individual dies intestate leaving a surviving spouse but no issue (in broad terms, children...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : In the Autumn Budget 2024 on 30 October 2024, the government revealed plans to include unspent pension pots and pension death benefits within an individual’s estate for IHT from 6 April 2027. This measure will cover both defined contribution and defined benefit arrangements, and will extend to UK-registered schemes as well as qualifying non-UK pension schemes. These rules apply across the entire pensions landscape. A technical consultation on how to deliver these reforms ran between 30 October 2024 and 22 January 2025. The reforms are legislated by the Finance Act 2026 and alter how personal representatives must declare the value of pension death benefits from 6 April 2027. For further details, see: Autumn Budget 2024—Private Client analysis — Inheritance tax. Effect of the grant A grant of probate, or a grant of letters of administration (sometimes with Will annexed), are the most frequently used forms of grant of representation in a deceased person’s estate. A grant of representation is a court order. Its function...

A charge to capital gains tax (CGT) arises when a chargeable person makes a chargeable disposal of a chargeable asset. A chargeable person includes an individual, the personal representatives (PRs) of a deceased person, and trustees of a settlement, each subject to residence conditions. Companies are legal persons too and, for disposals before 6 April 2019, could fall within CGT. For general information on CGT, see Practice Notes: Introductory guide to CGT and CGT—basic principles for trusts. The term ‘disposal’ is not defined, but typically covers a sale, an exchange or a gift of an asset. It also encompasses a part disposal, the settlement of an asset on trust, and the disposal of a beneficial interest in an asset already held on trust. The need to value an asset To calculate the CGT charge, both the acquisition value and the disposal value of the chargeable asset are needed. The gain is determined by subtracting the base cost (comprising the acquisition value plus any allowable expenditure) from the...

Legacy or bequest The expressions ‘legacy’ and ‘bequest’ are ordinarily confined to a sum of money or a personal item, though in some situations they can also denote a gift or devise of land. Furthermore, whether a ‘legacy’ encompasses an annuity turns on the context. Sir William Page Wood VC, in Gaskin v Rogers, explained that where a Will merely uses the word ‘legacy’ and directs a distribution amongst legatees, then, unless the face of the Will shows the testator has departed from the word’s settled legal meaning, annuitants are included. He added that the term ‘pecuniary legatees’ does no more than exclude specific legatees—namely, those entitled to particular chattels—and it does not, prima facie, prevent annuitants receiving the same advantage as they would have enjoyed had the Will spoken simply of ‘legatees’ rather than ‘pecuniary legatees’. All such interpretative rules remain subject to the fundamental principle: determine, from the Will read as a whole, what can be gathered of the testator’s intention where the words employed are not...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Potential changes to Wills Act 1837 The Law Commission’s review of wills culminated in a final report on 16 May 2025. Volume II contains a Draft Bill proposing replacement of the Wills Act 1837. For details of these proposals, including the published draft legislation, see Practice Note: Hot topic—modernising Wills and Modernising wills: Final Report Volume II: Draft Bill for a new Wills Act. STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime The Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025), which received Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, implements the abolition of the remittance basis and introduces a residence-based regime from 6 April 2025. FA 2025 makes residence, rather than domicile, the main determinant of liability to inheritance tax. changes to the rules defining excluded property status; removal of protected settlements status for offshore trusts; and modifications to overseas workday relief. For further information, see Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Potential changes to Wills Act 1837 On 16 May 2025, the Law Commission’s review of Wills published its final report, formally setting out its conclusions, with Volume II containing a draft Bill intended to supersede the Wills Act 1837. For details of these proposals, including the published draft legislation, consult Practice Note: Hot topic—modernising Wills and Modernising wills: Final Report Volume II: draft Bill for a new Wills Act. STOP PRESS: Ending the non-dom regime and moving to a residence-based IHT regime. The Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025), which obtained Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, enacts legislation for the removal of the remittance basis of taxation and substitutes a residence-based system commencing on 6 April 2025. It also displaces domicile as the principal determinant of inheritance tax (IHT) liability for individuals. Further measures cover revisions to the rules for excluded property status, the removal of protected settlements status for offshore trusts, and alterations to overseas workday relief as applicable. For more on these reforms, see...

I leave, free of tax, to [ insert name of donee ] of [ insert address of donee ] all my moveable property, tangible and intangible, [ save for any property that consists of money or security for money and is, at my death, used solely or mainly for business purposes and is, at my death, held solely as an investment ] ....