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Legitim is the share of a parent's estate that children in Scotland can claim by law — even if the will leaves them nothing. It applies only to the net moveable estate (money, shares, ISAs, cars, possessions — not land or buildings). Children collectively receive one-third of the moveable estate if the deceased left a spouse or civil partner, one-half if not, divided equally between them. No will can defeat it.
Legitim — sometimes called "the bairn's part" — is the children's branch of "legal rights" in Scots succession law. It is one of the most distinctive features of the Scottish system: unlike in England, a parent in Scotland cannot fully disinherit their children.
What legitim is. Legal rights arise automatically on death, whether or not the deceased left a will. The surviving spouse or civil partner has a claim (jus relictae or jus relicti), and the children have legitim. These rights operate within the framework of the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 and sit alongside — and, on intestacy, after — prior rights.
Moveable estate only. Legitim is calculated on the net moveable estate: money, bank accounts, shares, investment portfolios, ISAs, cars, furniture, jewellery and other possessions, after deduction of debts and expenses. It does not touch heritable property — land and buildings. A parent whose wealth is almost entirely in their home leaves little for a legitim claim; a parent with large ISA and share portfolios leaves a lot.
The fractions. If the deceased left a surviving spouse or civil partner, the children collectively receive one-third of the net moveable estate. If there is no surviving spouse or civil partner, the children's share rises to one-half. The legitim fund is divided equally among the children. If a child died before the parent, that child's own children can claim their parent's share through the principle of representation. Adopted children are included; stepchildren are not.
It cannot be defeated by a will. This is the point of legitim. A will that leaves a child nothing does not extinguish the child's claim — the child can claim legitim regardless of the will's terms. What a child cannot do is take both: a child left something in the will must elect between accepting that legacy and claiming legitim. Children can also formally discharge (waive) their legitim, which is common where an adult child wants a surviving parent to inherit everything.
Time limit. A legitim claim does not last forever. Like other rights in Scots law, it is extinguished by the long negative prescription under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 if it goes unclaimed and unacknowledged for 20 years — a far longer window than most inheritance deadlines, which is why executors often seek a formal discharge from children rather than leaving the claim hanging.
Why it matters in practice. Legitim is most significant in blended families — adult children from a first relationship can claim against an estate left entirely to a second spouse — and in estates heavy in moveable assets such as ISAs and shares. Anyone writing a will in Scotland should plan around it rather than pretend it doesn't exist.
Not completely. A will controls the heritable estate (land and buildings) and whatever remains of the moveable estate after legal rights, but it cannot remove the children's legitim claim. Children left out of a will can still claim their share of the net moveable estate — one-third collectively if there is a surviving spouse or civil partner, one-half if not. The only way a child loses the claim is by formally discharging it or letting it prescribe after 20 years.
Yes. A child cannot take a legacy under the will and claim legitim on top — they must elect one or the other. If the will leaves a child more than their legitim share would be worth, accepting the legacy is usually the obvious choice. If it leaves them less (or nothing), they can reject it and claim legitim instead. Executors should not distribute the moveable estate until each child's position is resolved, typically by a signed discharge.
Legitim covers moveable property only, so the family home and any other land or buildings are excluded. ISAs, shares, bank balances, cars and personal possessions are all moveable and count towards the legitim fund. This distinction drives real planning decisions: an estate consisting mainly of a house is largely beyond legitim's reach, while an estate rich in savings and investments is heavily exposed to it.
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