Last Will & Testament Wording

[standleyone]

Can anyone confirm the following wording please from a Will..
" I Give the sum of Twent Thousand Pounds to such of them the said Susan Smith and the said David Smith as shall survive me and if both shall do so in equal shares absolutely"
Does this mean Twenty Thousand between them or twenty Thousand each?

Thanks

[Hymie]

In plain English the wording means that £20,000 is given between them (divided equally, £10,000 each) – should only one be alive and the time of the will writer’s death, then that person gets the whole £20,000.

[factor-fiction]

I agree with Hymie. I cannot see any other interpretation. If they were to simply get £20,000 each the wording would have much simpler

[factor-fiction]

I could never be a solicitor though- I dislike the language and the lack of commas. Wills, for example, could be written using bullet points and little flow charts

[Hymie]

Although perhaps not immediately obvious from the words – should both Susan and David Smith die before the Will writer, then no money is paid out in relation to this part of the Will. And the £20,000 becomes part of the residual estate. Other wording could result in relatives of Susan and/or David (automatically) becoming beneficiaries of the £20,000 - in the event that both had died before the Will writer.

[cook6983]

If both are alive then £20k between them. if only one left they get the £20k

[cook6983]

£20k between you if both alive. If only one left then survivor gets the £20k

[mike11111]

The lack of commas is to give work to the judges. They decide where the commas should go. In 1916 Roger Casement was hanged for treason when the judges placed the comma in a different place to that suggested by his defence counsel. Had they decided otherwise he would have walked free. He became known as "The man hanged on a comma".