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The FindLaw Legal Dictionary -- free access to over 8260 definitions of legal terms. Search for a definition or browse our legal glossaries.

term:

Legacy

legacy n

pl: -cies
[Medieval Latin legatio, from Latin legare to bequeath]
: a gift of property by will
;specif
: a gift of personal property by will
: bequest see also ademption compare devise

conjoint legacy
in the civil law of Louisiana
: a legacy by a single disposition to more than one legatee or of indivisible property to more than one legatee

de·mon·stra·tive legacy
[di-mÄ n-strə-tiv-]
: a legacy payable from a designated fund or asset or from the general assets of the estate to the extent the specified fund or asset fails to satisfy the legacy

general legacy
: a legacy payable out of the general assets of the estate

legacy under a universal title
in the civil law of Louisiana
: a legacy that consists of a specified proportion (as one-half), a specified type (as movables), or a specified proportion of a specified type of the testator's property

par·tic·u·lar legacy
in the civil law of Louisiana
: any legacy that is not a universal legacy or a legacy under a universal title called also legacy under particular title

residuary legacy
: a legacy that consists of all of the testator's estate which has not been distributed through other legacies or charges upon the estate

specific legacy
: a legacy payable only from a specific fund or asset in the estate

uni·ver·sal legacy
in the civil law of Louisiana
: a legacy by which a testator gives to one or more legatees all of his or her property at the time of death



Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

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