Bank of Ireland v Solomon

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 06 November 1949
• Date: 06 November 1949
• Court: Supreme Court

S.C.),

In re Solomon

Bank of Ireland

and

Solomon

Marshalling of assets - Testator bequeathing leaseholds and pure personalty to trustees for sale and division of proceeds among certain named charities - Death of testator within three months of making of will - Whether principle of marshalling applicable in favour of charities - Charitable Donations and Bequests (Ir.) Act, 1844 (7 8 Vict., c. 97), s. 16.

The testator devised and bequeathed all his property, consisting of a house held in fee-simple, leaseholds and pure personalty, to his trustees upon trust to realise the same with power, in their discretion, to postpone such realisation. Out of his ready money and proceeds of sale of his real and personal property he bequeathed, inter alia, to H. a charitable legacy of £500 and, having devised his fee-simple property to E., he directed his trustees to divide the residue of his estate in equal shares among twenty-two named charities. On the testator dying within three months of the making of his will a summons was issued to determine whether, and to what extent, the principle of marshalling should be applied to compel the creditors, at the instance of the charitable legatees, to have recourse to the proceeds of sale of the leaseholds for payment of their claims in order to allow of the gifts to charity being paid exclusively out of the pure personalty and so prevent the charitable legacies from failing in part owing...