Confirmation Form C1 - Legitim rights

bob43

I am submitting a Confirmation form C1.   

The estate has:
Scottish:
Heritable property of £600k
Moveable property of £18k

England
Bank accounts of £221k

The whole estate is being left to the spouse except for £100k each to the 2 children (no other children)

I am trying to work out whether the spouse has to renounce his legitim rights, as he will be receiving less than 1/3 of the total moveable property (the children receive more than 1/3 so no need for them, as far as I can tell)

Thank you

buddy9

The spouse’s legal right entitlement is to jus relicti (⅓ of the net moveable estate in this case) rather than legitim.

A testamentary legacy cannot be accepted in addition to legal rights. If the spouse is content with the split, the acceptance of the will legacy would be considered full and final satisfaction of their entitlement. But family dynamics might influence the situation and there will be situations where, to protect the executor, a spouse needs to be given a copy of the will, advised of their right to legal rights and that they might wish to obtain their own independent legal advice.

bob43

Thank you for clarifying.    The spouse is quite happy with what he's getting in the will!  I was trying to work out whether this impacted the net qualifying value of the estate but I don't believe it does in this case - so this will remain as £200k and no further letter is required from the spouse.