Monday 15 June 2026
Your weekly SQE Prep Quiz has arrived
Dear Subscriber,
Hope you had a great weekend. Please see below for the question, the answer to the previous question and associated resources. This is the web version of this newsletter.
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This Week’s Question: A testator executes a valid will leaving “my flat at 10 Market Street” to an adult son, £30,000 to a friend, and the residue of the estate to a daughter. The friend is one of the two witnesses to the will. The son dies before the testator, leaving two children. Before death, the testator sells the flat and pays the sale proceeds into a savings account, but does not update the will. Which of the following best reflects how the estate should be distributed?
A. The son’s children receive the sale proceeds, the friend receives £30,000, and the daughter receives the remaining residue.
B. The son’s children receive nothing from the flat gift, the friend’s gift fails, and the daughter receives the residue.
C. The son’s children receive the sale proceeds, the friend’s gift fails, and the daughter receives only the remaining residue.
D. The son’s children receive nothing, the friend receives £30,000, and the daughter receives the remaining residue.
E. The whole estate passes on intestacy because one beneficiary witnessed the will and one gift has failed.
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Last Week’s Question: A man transfers £200,000 to trustees and signs a letter stating: “Hold this money for whichever of my grandchildren most needs financial support when they reach 25.” He has four grandchildren of different ages. The trustees are unsure whether they must wait until all grandchildren reach 25 before choosing one beneficiary, or whether they may consider each grandchild as they reach 25. A dispute arises over whether the trust is valid and how the fund should be allocated. Which of the following best reflects the likely legal position?
A. The trust is void because the trustees cannot know at once which grandchild will ultimately receive the fund.
B. The trust is valid because “grandchildren” is a certain class, but the trustees may need to construe the wording to decide timing and allocation.
C. The trust is void because the trustees must be able to divide the fund into fixed shares from the outset.
D. The trust is valid only if the trustees wait until all grandchildren reach 25 before making any payment.
E. The trust is void because “financial support” is too subjective to guide any trustee decision.
Correct answer: B. The trust is valid because “grandchildren” is a certain class, but the trustees may need to construe the wording to decide timing and allocation. Feedback: This question concerns certainty of objects and the practical construction of a discretionary trust. The class of beneficiaries is “my grandchildren”, which is conceptually certain. A trustee can say whether any given person is or is not one of the settlor’s grandchildren. This satisfies the test for certainty of objects in a discretionary trust, following McPhail v Doulton [1971] AC 424 and Re Baden (No 2) [1973] Ch 9. The more difficult issue is not whether the class is certain, but how the trustees should administer the trust. The wording creates ambiguity because it could mean either the trustees should consider each grandchild when that grandchild reaches 25; or the trustees should wait until all relevant grandchildren have reached 25 and then identify the one in greatest financial need. That ambiguity does not automatically make the trust void. The trustees should construe the trust instrument to give effect to the settlor’s intention. If necessary, they may seek the court’s directions. The court will try to interpret the wording in a way that makes the trust workable, provided the essential requirements for a trust are satisfied.
The other options are incorrect because:
- A is wrong: a discretionary trust does not require the final recipient to be known immediately.
- C is wrong: fixed shares are not required where the trustees have discretion.
- D is too absolute: waiting may be one possible construction, but not necessarily the only lawful approach.
- E is wrong: “financial support” gives trustees an evaluative standard; it is not necessarily too uncertain.
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All the best
Dr Ioannis (Yannis) Glinavos
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