Daily AncestorResiduary estate
The residuary estate is whatever is left of a dead person's property after debts, expenses and the specific gifts in the will have been paid.
When a will names specific gifts, everything not mentioned, plus anything left after debts, taxes and costs, forms the residuary estate. A residuary clause in the will says who gets it.
In old wills the clause often begins "all the rest and residue of my estate." The people named there can matter more than the small legacies listed earlier, because the residue may be most of the estate.
As seen in a recordResiduary clause of a will, 1800s
All the rest and residue of my estate, real and personal, I give to my sons Jno. and Wm. Hart
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Residuary estate." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/legal-land/residuary-estate. Last checked 2026-10-10.