21 December 2010 - Court of Appeal allows appeal on construction of will in RSPCA v Sharp

The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court judgment dismissing the RSPCA's claim relating to the construction of a will.

The appeal concerned the estate of Mr George Mason, of which the RSPCA was a beneficiary.

Mr Mason, had, in Clause 3 of his will, provided for a legacy to be given to certain named beneficiaries. The wording of the clause was as follows: 'I give the amount which at my death equals the maximum which I can give to them by this my Will without Inheritance Tax becoming payable in respect of this gift'. Clause 4 provided for a gift of a property owned by the testator, and Clauses 5 and 6 provided for a gift of residue to the RSPCA.

The RSPCA contended that the true construction of Clause 3 was that it amounted to a gift of only the testator's unused nil-rate band after the value of the property given in Clause 4 had been taken into account. The executors of Mr Mason's estate contended that Clause 3 meant that the named beneficiaries under that clause were to receive a legacy amounting to the whole of the nil-rate band, without any deduction being made in respect of the gift of the property.

Peter Smith J in the High Court agreed with the executors. The Court of Appeal has now unanimously overturned the High Court's decision.

Penelope Reed QC acted successfully for the RSPCA. The Court of Appeal judgment can be found here.