Age Restrictions Included in Wills.
A common wish of a will maker is to specify an age at which a beneficiary can receive their inheritance under a will. For example, the will maker may outline that the executors of the estate are to hold the assets of the estate until the beneficiaries turn 25 years old.
However, even if the will maker has included an age restriction in their will, if all the beneficiaries of the estate are over 18 years old, have full legal competence and are all in agreement, they can require the executors of the estate to terminate the estate and distribute the estate assets earlier to the beneficiaries as per the will. This option for beneficiaries is set out in section 121 of the Trusts Act 2019.
There are some restrictions on whether beneficiaries will be successful in asking the executors to terminate the estate and distribute the assets early, and in some cases, a Court order may be necessary to achieve this. Executors will need to be aware of these restrictions if they have been asked by the beneficiaries to terminate the estate and distribute the assets early.
Author
Samantha Stowell