Will Query

Up Donegal

Hi.
What does the following section of a will mean?

‘I give, devise and bequeath my entire estate unto my spouse, (spouse’s name) for his/her life with remainder to my three relatives, Ms. A; Mr. B and Mrs. C as tenants in common in one-third shares equally and absolutely’.
(Note: This couple had no children.)

Is this to say that, in this case, upon the surviving spouse’s death, the estate passes to the three named relatives?
I always thought that, when a spouse died, regardless of whether he/she had a will made, the surviving spouse would automatically inherit all of the deceased spouse’s assets, (provided there were no children) and could bequeath the assets to whoever he/she wanted to in his/her own will. In this instance, it seems that the surviving spouse wouldn’t have any say in who inherits the estate after his/her death because the deceased spouse has already decided who should inherit it.

Can any legal-minded person throw any light on this?
Thanks.

Peregrinus

Let's assume a married couple, X and Y, with no children or grandchildren. X dies, survived by Y.

If X has made no will, Y inherits X's entire estate absolutely.

However, in this case X did leave a will. In this situation X's property passes as per the will except that Y has a legal right to take 50% of X's property absolutely, regardless of what the will may say. The executor of X's will must inform Y that she has this right, but it's up to her to decide whether to exercise it or not. She can, if she wishes, just let the will take its course. Or, she can apply to the executor for her legal right, in which case 50% of the estate becomes hers absolutely, and the remaining 50% is dealt with as per the will.