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légataire universel

English translation: residuary legatee

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:légataire universel
English translation:residuary legatee
Entered by: emiledgar

07:14 Jan 12, 2006
French to English translations [PRO]
Law/Patents - Law (general) / wills and testaments
French term or phrase: légataire universel
in this letter, not the will, the person named "legataire universel" is the heir who has inherited 75% of the estate, so I'm confused as to why it's "universel". also in this letter, not the will, he is also called "beneficiaire universel en vertu du testament".
emiledgar
Belgium
Local time: 22:32
residuary legatee
Explanation:
This is straight from F E Bridge's French English Legal Dictionary:

"person to whom a testator leaves the whole or a share of his estate, possibly subject to legacies; universal legatee; residuary legatee."

This CAN mean 'sole heir' or 'sole legatee', but in your case I think it's more along the lines of the testator has made one or two specific legacies (or is possibly subject to statutory provisions forcing him/her to give a share to family members), and this legatee is getting the WHOLE of what's left over. This is why I'm suggesting 'residuary legatee', although you could also use 'universal legatee'.

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Note added at 21 mins (2006-01-12 07:36:27 GMT)
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You know - like in the films: "To my faithful butler, Jeeves, £50; to my housekeeper, Mrs Goodbody, £25 a year for the rest of her natural life; and to my spendthrift son, who never learned the value of economy, THE REMAINDER OF MY ENTIRE ESTATE, some fifty million pounds, to do with as he sees fit..."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs 39 mins (2006-01-12 09:53:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.uslegalforms.com/lawdigest/legaldefinitions.php/l...

"A legatee is a person or organization named to receive a gift of property or money under the terms of the will of a person who has died. A legatee may also be referred to as a beneficiary. In a strict sense, a legatee does not receive real property, since historically a legatee referred to those taking personal property under a will, whereas those taking real property were referred to as devisees. However, in modern usage, "legatee" is often used to designate a person who takes anything according to the terms of a will."

I think 'residuary legatee' or 'universal legatee' would be easily understood to mean 'the person inheriting the bulk of the estate'.
Selected response from:

Charlotte Allen
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:32
Grading comment
Thank you.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4universal legatee
Allen Harris
4 +1residuary legatee
Charlotte Allen
4residuary beneficiary = residuary legatee (of chattels) and devisee (of land)
Adrian MM. (X)
3testamentary/legated heir, universal legatee
Francis MARC


  

Answers


20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
legataire universel
testamentary/legated heir, universal legatee


Explanation:
Termium:
Domaine(s)
  – Wills and Successions (Civil Law)
Domaine(s)
  – Droit successoral (droit civil)
 
testamentary heir Source
CORRECT

appointed heir Source SOURCE TRAD

héritier institué Source CORRECT,
MASC

légataire universel Source MASC

DEF – Légataire (assimilé à un
légataire universel) que le testateur a
désigné dans son testament comme
son héritier. Source

Domaine(s)
  – Wills and Estates (Common Law)
Domaine(s)
  – Droit successoral (common law)
 
universal legatee Source
CORRECT

légataire universel Source
CORRECT, MASC, NORMALISÉ

OBS – Il est probable qu'on
retrouvera rarement le terme anglais
employé autrement que dans
l'expression «universal devisee and
legatee», qui désigne effectivement le
«légataire universel», c'est-à-dire le
légataire de l'universalité des biens
de la succession. Sou

Francis MARC
Lithuania
Local time: 23:32
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 228
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24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
legataire universel
universal legatee


Explanation:
Pasted from the Grand Dictionnaire Terminologique:

Définition :
Personne à qui le testateur a accordé l'universalité de ses biens.

See link for full details.


    Reference: http://w3.granddictionnaire.com/btml/fra/r_motclef/index1024...
Allen Harris
United States
Local time: 15:32
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne
2 hrs
  -> Thank you very much!
agree  Abdellatif Bouhid: http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/pub/1998/vol1/html/...
7 hrs
  -> Thank you very much!
agree  Mikaele (X)
8 hrs
  -> Thank you very much!
agree  Nedyalka Valcheva (X): agree
965 days
  -> Thank you very much!
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
légataire universel
residuary beneficiary = residuary legatee (of chattels) and devisee (of land)


Explanation:
beneficiaire universel IS the same.

Charlotte/FHS Bridge are half-right - except the doctrine of conversion of realty into personalty has been abolised in Eng. law.

'I hereby devise and bequeath' catches both legacies of chattels and devises of real estate as well as leaseholds that are a hybrid.

Residuary looks off-beam, but means the beneficiary takes all after tax and charges.

Unfortunately, the Google weblink defs. aren't quite right, either.
Residuary Beneficiary. After the estate has been dispensed to the legal heirs,
the individual who receives whatever remains from the estate. ...




Also Eurodicautom dilly-dallies:
TERM légataire universel

Reference C.T.T.J.Université de Moncton,1982;Common Law.Droit de succession


Definition Will giving all testator's property to his wife or other person(being a person of full age)absolutely.

Reference C.T.T.J.Université de Moncton,1982
(1)
TERM universal legatee

Reference C.T.T.J.Université de Moncton,1982;Common Law.The Law of Inheritance(Williams'Law Relating to Wills,5th ed.,1980,p.1019)
(2)
TERM universal devisee

Reference C.T.T.J.Université de Moncton,1982;Common Law.The Law of Inheritance(Williams'Law Relating to Wills,5th ed.,1980,p.1019)




    www.legal-explanations.com/ definitions/residuary-beneficiary.htm
Adrian MM. (X)
Local time: 22:32
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 858
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
legataire universel
residuary legatee


Explanation:
This is straight from F E Bridge's French English Legal Dictionary:

"person to whom a testator leaves the whole or a share of his estate, possibly subject to legacies; universal legatee; residuary legatee."

This CAN mean 'sole heir' or 'sole legatee', but in your case I think it's more along the lines of the testator has made one or two specific legacies (or is possibly subject to statutory provisions forcing him/her to give a share to family members), and this legatee is getting the WHOLE of what's left over. This is why I'm suggesting 'residuary legatee', although you could also use 'universal legatee'.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 mins (2006-01-12 07:36:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You know - like in the films: "To my faithful butler, Jeeves, £50; to my housekeeper, Mrs Goodbody, £25 a year for the rest of her natural life; and to my spendthrift son, who never learned the value of economy, THE REMAINDER OF MY ENTIRE ESTATE, some fifty million pounds, to do with as he sees fit..."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs 39 mins (2006-01-12 09:53:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.uslegalforms.com/lawdigest/legaldefinitions.php/l...

"A legatee is a person or organization named to receive a gift of property or money under the terms of the will of a person who has died. A legatee may also be referred to as a beneficiary. In a strict sense, a legatee does not receive real property, since historically a legatee referred to those taking personal property under a will, whereas those taking real property were referred to as devisees. However, in modern usage, "legatee" is often used to designate a person who takes anything according to the terms of a will."

I think 'residuary legatee' or 'universal legatee' would be easily understood to mean 'the person inheriting the bulk of the estate'.

Charlotte Allen
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:32
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 160
Grading comment
Thank you.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Adrian MM. (X): legatee is bequests of personalty i.e. chattels only./I stand corrected, though this is not Chancery Div. usage.
1 hr
  -> Historically, yes, but in modern legal language, no longer true. See added note above./Thanks v much and also for correcting F E to FHS Bridges
neutral  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: I'd go with "universal". Would welcome your comments on my posting ! // New posting imminent...
3 hrs
  -> OK - but I can't see it!
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