Legal Definitions - legator

A legator is an individual who makes a gift of personal property to another person through their last will and testament. While the term testator is more commonly used to refer to anyone who makes a will, a legator specifically refers to the person leaving a "legacy," which is typically a gift of money or specific personal items.

Here are some examples:

• Imagine an elderly woman, Mrs. Albright, who meticulously details in her will that her cherished collection of antique porcelain dolls should be given to her niece, Sarah. In this scenario, Mrs. Albright is the legator because she is specifically bequeathing personal property (the doll collection) to Sarah through her will.

• Consider a successful entrepreneur, Mr. Henderson, who includes a clause in his will directing that a significant sum of money be donated to his alma mater's scholarship fund upon his passing. Mr. Henderson acts as a legator by designating a monetary gift (a legacy) to a specific recipient (the university's scholarship fund) in his will.

• Suppose a musician, Ms. Chen, specifies in her will that her valuable vintage guitar collection should be divided equally between her two bandmates. Ms. Chen is the legator because she is gifting specific personal items (the guitars) to her bandmates as legacies through her will.