**Legacy** (noun) — A gift of personal property (as opposed to real property or land) made in a will. Traditionally, the term referred specifically to gifts of money, while other personal property was called a bequest. In modern usage, "legacy" and "bequest" are often used interchangeably to mean any gift of personal property in a will, and sometimes extended to mean any testamentary gift at all.
A legacy is a gift you leave to someone in your will—usually money or personal items rather than land or buildings.
The classic example is "I leave a legacy of $10,000 to my nephew." But it can apply to any personal property: "I leave my jewelry collection to my daughter" is also a legacy.
The formal distinction is between legacies (personal property like money, shares, cars, furniture, or jewelry) and devises (real property like land and buildings). But in everyday language, and even in many modern wills, people use "legacy" more broadly to mean any gift left in a will.
You'll often hear the phrase "leaving a legacy" used to mean the impact you make or what you're remembered for. While that's a related concept, in strict legal terms, a legacy is specifically a gift in your will—something tangible you're passing on to someone after you die.
⏱ When you'll encounter this term
Understanding legacies matters when you're making or interpreting a will.
When drafting a will, you can leave specific legacies to particular people: "I leave $5,000 to my friend James," or "I leave my piano to the community music school." These are called specific or pecuniary legacies depending on whether they're of money or other items.
Or you can leave a general legacy from your estate: "I leave 10% of my estate to charity." This doesn't identify specific money or items, just an entitlement to a portion of the estate's value.
The distinction matters because specific legacies have priority in estate administration. If the estate doesn't have enough to pay all debts, cover expenses, and fulfill all gifts, specific legacies are paid before general ones. And if a specific item you've left as a legacy is no longer in your estate when you die (you sold it or gave it away), that legacy fails through ademption.
When you're receiving a legacy, you might have questions about when and how it will be paid. Generally, the executor must first pay the deceased's debts and funeral expenses, then specific legacies, then general legacies, and finally distribute the residuary estate. If you've been left a specific legacy and the executor can locate the item, you should receive it relatively quickly—though you might need to wait until the executor has confirmed all debts are covered and the estate is solvent.
For tax purposes, the treatment of legacies varies by jurisdiction. In Australia, receiving a legacy generally doesn't attract tax—there's no inheritance tax. In the UK, the estate might pay inheritance tax before distributing legacies, which could reduce what you receive. And in some jurisdictions, large legacies might have other tax implications.
**Related terms:** [Bequest](/dictionary/bequest), [Devise](/dictionary/devise), [Beneficiary](/dictionary/beneficiary), Specific legacy
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