Succession Act 1965 section 96

Meaning of "die without issue"

Section 96 clarifies how phrases such as "die without issue" in a will should be interpreted, ensuring they refer to a person having no children at the time of death rather than to an indefinite future failure of descendants.

• Phrases such as "die without issue", "die without leaving issue", or "have no issue" in a will all carry the same standardised meaning under this section.
• These phrases are to be interpreted as meaning the person has no living descendants at the time of their death (or during their lifetime), not that their line of descendants has permanently died out at some indefinite future point.
• This interpretation applies equally to devises (gifts of real property) and bequests (gifts of personal property) contained in a will.
• The statutory interpretation can be overridden if the will itself clearly shows that the person making the will intended a different meaning.

---