DEMONSTRATIVE LEGACY.
A general legacy is one so given as not to amount to a bequest of a particular thing or money, of a particular fund, distinguished from all others of the same kind; 1 Rop.
Leg. 170; Tifft v. Porter, 8 N. Y. 516; 6 Madd. 92. It is a gift of quantity, merely, and embraces all bequests, not specific or de monstrative; Kelly v. Richardson, 100 Ala. 584, 13 South. 785.
An 'Lindell/ate legacy is a bequest of things which are not enumerated or ascertained as to numbers or quantities : as, a bequest by a testator of all his goods, all his stocks in the funds ; Lownd. Leg. 84; Swinb. Wills 485; 1 P. Wms. 697; of this class are gen erally residuary legacies.
A lapsed legacy is one which, in conse quence of the death of the legatee before the testator or before the period for vesting, has never vested. See LAPSED LEGACY.
A legacy for life is one in which the lega tee is to enjoy the use of the legacy for life.
A. modal legacy is a bequest accompanied with directions as to the mode in which it should be applied for the legatee's benefit: for example, a legacy to Titius to put him an apprentice; 2 Vern. Ch. 431; Lownd. Leg. 151.
A pecuniary legacy is one of money. Pecuniary legacies are in most cases gen eral legacies, but there may be a specific pecuniary legacy, for example, of the money in a certain bag ; 1 Rop. Leg.. 150, n. In Maryland pecuniary legacies are by statute to be paid out of the real estate if the per sonal is insufficient ; Laws 1894, ch. 438.
A residuary legacy is a bequest of all the testator's personal estate not otherwise ef fectually disposed of by his will; Lownd. Leg. 10; Bacon, Abr. Legacies (I) ; 6 H. L. Cas. 217. An ordinary residuary bequest cannot be treated as specific, but from its very nature must be considered as a gen eral legacy ; L. R. 3 Ch. D. 309; even though some of its particulars are enumerated in the will; 4 Hare 628 ; but a bequest of the remainder of a particular thing or fund aft er the payment of other legacies or of all one's estate in a particular locality may be specific so long as the identity of the thing or fund is not destroyed ; 5 Ves. 150.; Schaal. Ex. & Ad. § 462.
A specific legacy is a bequest of a speci fied part of the testator's personal estate, distinguished from all others of the same kind ; 3 Beay. 349; Bradford v. Haynes, 20 Me. 105; In re Walker's Estate, 3 Rawle (Pa.) 237; Perkins v. Mathes, 49 N. H. 107; L. R. 20 Eq. 304; Kahl v. Schober, 35 N. J. Eq. 461; Johnson v. Goss, 128 Mass. 433. Such a legacy may be the undistributed bal ance of a partnership or a good-will; 31 Beay. 602 ; or debt due testator ; Titus v. McLanahan, 2 Del. Ch. 200; Farnum v. Bas com, 122 Mass. 282; in such case it is ren dered worthless by insolvency ; Schoul. Ex.. & Ad. § 461. A specific legacy may be of animals or inanimate things, provided they are specified and separated from all other things, as money in a bag, or money marked and so described : as, I give two eagles to A B, on which are engraved the Initials of my name. Such a legacy may also be given
out of a general fund ; 4 Ves. 565. If the specific article given be not found among the assets of the testator, the legatee loses his legacy.
All natural persons and all corporations are capable of becoming legatees, unless prohibited by statute or alien enemies. The statute under which it is created must be resorted to in order to ascertain whether a corporation has legal capacity to take a legacy, but the act of incorporation or legis lative confirmation of the rights may be se cured after the legacy takes effect ; England v. Vestry of Prince George's Parish, 53 Md. 466; Zimmerman v. Anders, 6 W. & S. (Pa.) 218, 40 Am. Dec. 552. The right of a corpora tion to take by will is subject to the general laws of the state passed after the incorpora tion ; Kerr v. Dougherty, 79 N. Y. 327. See CORPORATION; FOREIGN CORPORATION. A be quest to the United States from which came the Smithsonian Institute was held valid in the English chancery court; Schoul. Ex. & Ad. § 460, note ; but under the terms of the state statute a devise of lands in New York to the United Stales was held void ; U. S. v. Fox, 94 U. S. 315, 24 L. Ed. 192; In re Fox, 52 N. Y. 530, 11 Am. Rep. 751. As to the dif ference of the law applicable to real and per sonal property, see CONFLICT OF LAWS. Lega cies to the subscribing witnesses to a will are by statute often declared void. See 2 Wms. Ex. 1053 ; Rop. Leg. 201; L. R. 13 Eq. 381; Sullivan v. Sullivan, 106 Mass. 474, 8 Am. Rep. 356. It was held in England that a sub scribing witness to whom a legacy was given was incompetent by reason of interest, and that the will would fail unless there was enough witnesses without him; 2 Stra. 1253. To save the will it was enacted that the leg acy should be void ; 25 Geo. II. c. 6. Similar statutes have been enacted in most of the states ; Schoul. Wills § 357 ; 1 Stims. Am. St. L. § 2650. In most of these, if there are enough witnesses without the legatee, the legacy is saved, but in a few states it is said that it seems that it may be void in any case ; id. Bequests to superstitious uses are prohibited by many or the English stat utes ; 5 Myl. & C. 11. But in the United States the free toleration of all religious opinions would seem to make it almost im possible to hold any use superstitious ; Hoge v. Hoge, 1 Watts (Pa.) 218, 26 Am. Dec. 52; Gass v. Wilhite, 2 Dana (Ky.) 170, 26 Am. Dec. 446. Legacies by Roman Catholics for masses for the repose of the soul were held in England void as for superstitious uses ; 2 Myl. & K. 684 ; but in this country have been held valid; Hagenmeyer v. Hanselman, 2 Dem. (N. Y.) 87 ; In re Schouler, 134 Mass. 426; contra, McHugh v. McCole, 97 Wis. 166,