Dharmasiri v. Roslin Perera and Others – sllr 1989 volume 1 page 332

In the case between the appellant executor of the Last Will of Parapitiya Gamaralalage Wilbert and the respondents, including the widow and beneficiaries under the Will, the court addressed the issue of whether the business assets devised in paragraph 4 of the Will were liable solely for the payment of a Rs. 100,000 loan or were to be charged pro rata for all the deceased’s debts. It was held that the business assets should be regarded as a specific legacy rather than a general legacy, setting aside the District Court’s finding to the contrary. This determination reaffirmed the principle that the nature of a legacy must be ascertained from the language of the Will and authoritative legal texts, and that specific legacies are not to be charged with all the deceased’s debts unless clearly ex