A person who has a power, whether of appointment or of
revocation and resettlement, that can be exercised only with the
consent of, or jointly with, others is not regarded as competent to
dispose, (
IHTM04457) even if they are an object
of the power, or if the power is treated in law for other purposes
as a general one (Commissioner of Estate and Succession Duties
(Barbados) v Bowring [1962] AC 171)
A person who has a general power of appointment by will only
and who, in their lifetime, releases that power is not regarded as
having been competent to dispose of the settled property. Any will
executed before the release of the power could not have conferred
any benefit, during the testator’s lifetime, on the
appointee.
Whether the power can be exercised by will or by deed, (
IHTM04460) or both will have a bearing
on the competency to dispose.
If a surviving spouse is both life tenant and entitled to an
absolute interest in the settled property expectant on the death of
a second and surviving limited owner, the ownership of the
reversionary interest does not make them competent to dispose.
