legacy
Legacy is a basically a testamentary
gift
of
personal property
from a
deceased individual
through a
will
. A legacy is secondary to the
claims
of the
deceased individual’s
creditors
. Furthermore, a legacy could be simple, or also known as a
specific legacy
, in that it is directly referring an actual specific object or a part of the
estate
of the
testator
. This is in contrast to being a general legacy, which would state that the
gift
could come from any of the
deceased individual
’s
assets
. A legacy could also be a demonstrative legacy, which means that it is a general legacy that will be paid from a specific fund from the
deceased individual.
Technically, when viewed narrowly, a legacy is distinct from a
devise
, which is a
gift
of
real property
through
will
. Nonetheless, this difference between a
devise
and a legacy cannot defeat the intent of the individual who makes the
will
, also known as the
testator
sometimes. However, these terms of legacy and
devise
are sometimes used interchangeable for
real property
or
personal property
depending on the context and the intent of the
testator
.
Legacy is sometimes known as a
bequest
.
[Last reviewed in June of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
Wex
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- financial events
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- trusts
- inheritances & estates
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