can someone explain what this will is saying

faolteam

can someone explain what this will is saying, and is it a equal share between children

i give devise and bequeath all my property real and personal that i am at present posssesed of or that i may hereafter acquire unto my said executors in trust for my children with full power authority and discretion to divide and distribute same between them in such share or shares at such time or times and in such manner and way as they in thetheir uncontrolled discretion shall consider fit.
i also authorise and empower my said executors to exclude any of my said children from obtaining a benefit under this my will as they in their uncontrolled discretion shall consider fit

NoQuarter

Leaving everything to the kids. They can do whatever they want with it. The executor has the power to withhold any benefit from a kid.

faolteam

so it is an equal share between the kids ??

and The executor has the power to withhold any benefit from a kid.

what exactly does the above mean

dats_right

faolteam wrote: »

so it is an equal share between the kids ??

and The executor has the power to withhold any benefit from a kid.

what exactly does the above mean

Exactly what it says on the tin.

FreudianSlippers

faolteam wrote: »

i also authorise and empower my said executors to exclude any of my said children from obtaining a benefit under this my will as they in their uncontrolled discretion shall consider fit

I have no experience with wills whatsoever, but that strikes me as quite an odd term; is it usual?
Seems very ambiguous and leaves a lot of power to the executor.

Milk & Honey

Everything to the executors to share out among the children. The executors can decide the percentage of each share and can give a 0% share to a child if they are of a mind to.
This sounds like an exam question. raises a couple of issue e.g Section 117 and the rights of all beneficiaries of full age who are fully entitled to give instructions to trustees.

HellFireClub

It sounds like an incredibly stupid way to go about settling your affairs after your death.

Milk & Honey

http://www.bailii.org/ie/cases/IEHC/2003/6.html

C.(X.) v. T.(R.) [2003] IEHC 6 (2 April 2003)

"to pay out of the residue of the capital and any income arising from it to any one or more of my wife R, my children, my grandchildren, the spouses of my children and my brother K and his wife M in such shares and at such times as my trustees in their sole discretion shall think fit without obligation to make any payment to or for the benefit of my beneficiaries listed above or any of my children or to require equality among them

Wantobe

It looks like extracts from a discretionary trust.

Very common where the children are under 18 when the will is made.

The will needs to be read in its entirety for advice to be given on it. Individual clauses can be mis-interpreted.

faolteam

the only bit that may have been left out was who the executors were etc

there were 6 kids and i know for a fact that one of the kids recieved nothing

but would it have had to be written down what was given to each child etc and if so how would i obtain this percentage ???

coylemj

faolteam wrote: »

the only bit that may have been left out was who the executors were etc

there were 6 kids and i know for a fact that one of the kids recieved nothing

but would it have had to be written down what was given to each child etc and if so how would i obtain this percentage ???

You're completely missing the point. The money was left in trust to the executors to distribute to the children as they in their uncontrolled discretion shall consider fit meaning they were allowed to divide up the estate any way they pleased which could include giving some of the children nothing.

So the testator avoided specifying percentages and left it up to the executors. The executors would have been named in the will - I assume from your last post that this was an actual will i.e. it's not an exam question?

CIARAN_BOYLE

faolteam wrote: »

the only bit that may have been left out was who the executors were etc

there were 6 kids and i know for a fact that one of the kids recieved nothing

but would it have had to be written down what was given to each child etc and if so how would i obtain this percentage ???

If given nothing you can challenge the executors decision in court on the grounds that that child has not been provided for

bath handle

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

faolteam wrote: »

the only bit that may have been left out was who the executors were etc

there were 6 kids and i know for a fact that one of the kids recieved nothing

but would it have had to be written down what was given to each child etc and if so how would i obtain this percentage ???

If given nothing you can challenge the executors decision in court on the grounds that that child has not been provided for

A challenge can only be made to the will, regarding non provision , not the decision of the executors. Any challenge must be made within 6 months of the grant of probate.

lastlaugh

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

If given nothing you can challenge the executors decision in court on the grounds that that child has not been provided for

If all the children are over 18 would there still be an issue if one person is left out altogether?

bath handle

lastlaugh wrote: »

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

If given nothing you can challenge the executors decision in court on the grounds that that child has not been provided for

If all the children are over 18 would there still be an issue if one person is left out altogether?

A child has no automatic entitlement to a share of an estate. There is only a right to claim that adequate provision was not made. That claim can be made at any age.

faolteam

it was written in the 50's so i guess its to late to issue a challenge.

bath handle

faolteam wrote: »

it was written in the 50's so i guess its to late to issue a challenge.

It is not when it was written that matters. it is the date of the grant of probate. the grant could be decades after the will was written matters.

dermot_sheehan

I imagine this provision is now seldom used as discretionary trust tax would kick in.

faolteam

what u mean it is the date of the grant of probate

and how would i find that ?

coylemj

faolteam wrote: »

what u mean it is the date of the grant of probate

and how would i find that ?

After a person dies, the executor named in the will (or a solicitor acting on his behalf) will apply for a grant of probate. Depending on various factors, this process could take several months at the end of which the probate office will issue a grant of probate which is authorisation to the executor to distribute the assets of the deceased.

Since the will in question is now over 20 years old, it and the record of the grant of probate would now be held in the National Archives, I'd expect that these records are indexed by date of death since that is more likely to be known to researchers than the date the grant of probate was issued.

It's not an issue in this case but the www.courts.ie website say that wills are transferred to the National Archives after 20 years but the National Archives website says 25 years.

http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy/testamentary.html

faolteam

died in 1960 i guess at this stage it will have been distributed,

can at this late stage can the will be contested ??

coylemj

faolteam wrote: »

died in 1960 i guess at this stage it will have been distributed,

Given that 51 years have elapsed, what do you think?

faolteam wrote: »

can at this late stage can the will be contested ??

Regardless of whatever legal limitation might (and I'm sure does) apply, how could you possibly go after the estate when the money has by now passed through two generations, if not simply disappeared?

faolteam

but the property is still there,

Milk & Honey

there is absolutely no way any claim would be entertained by a court after this lapse of time. The death appears to have pre-dated the 1965 Succession Act. Challenges to a will on grounds of non provision must be made within 6 months of the grant of probate. It is the shortest limitation period on the statute books.
The reason is that when property is distributed from an estate there is certainty about ownership after the 6 months. Property can be sold on and banks can lend on the strength of it. If there was potential for a disappointed legatee to come in and challenge title at any time there would be massive inconvenience and hardship.
The executors who acted in 1960 are probably now dead or else are very old. How can they be expected to have retained documentation for so long. Will they remember the reasons why they acted as they did.
People cannot sleep on their rights, if they have rights.