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Section 338: Commencement of annuity when no time fixed by will

Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 337 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 339

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 338

Section 338 governs testamentary annuities where no time is specified by the will, providing that the annuity commences to run from the testator's death, with the first installment falling due at the end of the executor's year.

  • Immediate Accrual from Death: In the absence of a contrary testamentary stipulation, an annuity commences to accrue from the date of the testator's death, distinguishing it from general pecuniary legacies which do not bear interest in the first year.
  • Maturity of First Payment: Although the annuity accrues from death, the first annual payment does not become legally recoverable until the expiration of one full year from the demise.
  • Subsequent Annual Payments: All subsequent installments fall due annually on the anniversary of the testator's death throughout the duration of the annuity.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Gibson v. Bott (1802) 7 Ves 89: Lord Eldon laid down that an annuity begins to run from the death of the testator, and the first payment is due at the end of the year from death, because the testator intended maintenance from the moment of death.
  • Houghton v. Franklin (1823) 1 Sim & St 390: Held that where an annuity is given generally without specifying the date of payment, it commences from the death of the testator, but payment cannot be demanded until the end of the first year.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In drafting will clauses or framing claims for testamentary annuities, specify exact dates of payment (e.g., quarterly in advance). In probate litigation, assert the legatee's vested right to accrued annuity arrears from the date of death, resisting any executorial attempt to calculate the annuity only from the grant of probate.

Section 337 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 339