THELLUSSON ACT is an act of parliament, 39 and 40 Geo. III. c. 98, passed for the purpose of checking the disposition of testators to accumulate the income of their estates until it should form a large fortune. The late Mr. Thellusson had, by his will, directed his personal property to be invested in land, and the rents and profits of the land to be so purchased, and of his other real estate, to be accumulated during the lives of all his descendants who should be living at the time of his death, or born in a certain time thereafter; and then he limited the accumulated property in favor of certain of his de scendants who might be then living at that distant time. The property was said to have consisted of landed estates worth £4,000 a year, besides personalty of about half a mil lion; and it was estimated that the accumulated fund would amount to above 19 mil lions. The testator's object was to create enormous wealth for the purpose of founding three families to spring from his three sons. For three quarters of a century the ques
tions arising out of this will have been discussed in various forms; but the legislature, soon after the testator's death, took the earliest opportunity of preventing in future tes tators accumulating the income in this way for more than 21 years, and the above act was passed for that purpose. In the courts the first attempt to upset the will of Hr. Thellusson was to make out that it was too uncertain to be carried into execution—next, that the accumulation was illegal—next, whether males claiming through females would be entitled to a share: all of which attempts to upset the will failed. Ultimately, how ever, the fund proved not to be so large as was anticipated, and was distributed among a greater number of claimants. The eldest son was created baron Rendlesham in 1806. The litigation ended by a decree of the hours of lords in 1858. The Thellusson act has been extended to Scotland.