A residuary estate, in the
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
of
wills Wills may refer to:
* Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...
, is any portion of the
testator
A testator () is a person who has written and executed a Will (law), last will and testament that is in effect at the time of their death. It is any "person who makes a will."Gordon Brown, ''Administration of Wills, Trusts, and Estates'', 3d ed. (2 ...
's estate that is not specifically devised to someone in the will, or any property that is part of such a specific devise that fails.
It is also known as a residual estate or simply residue.
The will may identify the taker of the residuary estate through a ''residuary clause'' or ''residuary bequest''. The person identified in such a clause is called the ''residuary taker'', ''residuary beneficiary'', or ''residuary legatee''. Such a clause may state that, in the event all other heirs predecease the testator, the estate would pass to a charity (that would, presumably, have remained in existence).
If no such clause is present, however, the residuary estate will pass to the testator's heirs by
intestacy
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
.
At common law, if the residuary estate was divided between two or more beneficiaries, and one of those beneficiaries was unable to take, the share that would have gone to that beneficiary would instead pass by intestacy, under the doctrine that there was ''no residuary of a residuary''. The modern rule, however, is that the failure of a residuary gift to one beneficiary causes that beneficiary's share to be divided among the remaining residuary takers.
References
Wills and trusts
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