Intention/wording of a will

[Freelance]

No.

Wrong.

As presented there is no indication of a general charitable intention. Rather a very specific bequest for masses to be said (fire escape option). If the recipient declines it should fall into the general residue of the estate to be shared among remaining residuary beneficiaries.

Tha's as presented. We cannot know for sure without having sight of the original will.

 

[TomEdison]

Depends, yet again, on the exact wording of the will.

If the bequest is "€10,000 to the parish priest for the time being of Toureendohenybeg" and the PP disclaims it, it falls back into the residue.

But if it's "€10,000 to the parish priest for the time being of Toureendohenybeg for the celebration of masses for the repose of my soul at a stipend of €5 per mass" and the parish priest disclaims it, that's different. A charitable purpose has been stipulated, and the rxecutor must try to apply the €10,000 to that purpose. Perhaps he can find some other person or institution that will arrange for the masses to be said?

He must try to acheive the charitable purposes — in this case, the celebration of 2,000 masses — as closely as he can. If he can't find anyone who will arrange for the celebration of 2,000 masses, he can settle for a lower number. But he can't, e.g,, apply the money to an entirely different purpose, even if it is also charitable. So there wil be no unexpected windfall for the Cats' and Dogs' Home.

 

[Saturn]

The executor should follow the deceased's directions. If the bequest exceeds the number of Masses the priest can reasonably perform he should follow the rule of the Church which is to transfer the surplus Mass offerings to another priest (or priests) - usually missionary priests. As there is specific guidance for this matter I can only guess that it is not at all unusual.

The "number of Masses he can reasonably perform" is vague in the guidance, but he can only accept one Mass offering per day. Even if he says more Masses than this, and for other intentions, he can only accept one paid offering per day. In the US the guidance seems to be that the priest can only accept offerings for Masses (one daily) for up to one year ahead but I can't say if this more explicit guidance is provided in the Irish Church.

If the PP proceeds to use part of the bequest for other purposes then this should be a matter for him and his conscience.