Where a bequest is made to the "representatives"
or "legal representatives"
or "personal representatives"
or "executors or administrators" of a particular person, and the class so designated forms the direct and independent object of the bequest, the property bequeathed shall be distributed as if it had belonged to such person and he had died intestate in respect of it.
Illustration:
A bequest is made to the "legal representatives" of A. A has died intestate and insolvent. B is his administrator.
B is entitled to receive the legacy, and Will apply it in the first place to the discharge of such part of A's debt as may remain unpaid: if there be any surplus B Will pay it to those persons who at A's death would have been entitled to receive any property of A's which might remain after payment of his debts, or to the representatives of such persons.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 94
Section 94 provides that a bequest to the 'representatives', 'legal representatives', or 'personal representatives' of a person vests the property in that person's executors or administrators as estate assets.
Under this section, the bequest vests in the executors or administrators of that designated person in their official representative character, becoming part of that person's general estate subject to the payment of their debts and general testamentary administration, rather than passing directly to the representatives personally.
Section 94 prevents executors from pocketing legacies meant for their testator's estate. If an uncle leaves a bequest to 'the legal representatives of my late brother', the brother's executor cannot claim the money personally; it must be administered as an asset of the brother's estate to pay debts and distribute to the brother's own beneficiaries.