SolvedIHTM12054 | Succession: Wills: Construction of Wills: Inconsistent clauses
From HM Revenue & Customs · Inheritance Tax Manual
There is a general rule that, if two parts of a Will are inconsistent with each other, the later clause should succeed and the earlier fail. But, in practice, the courts are reluctant to apply this rule and there are certain circumstances where it will not apply. These are:
where looking at the Will as a whole it appears that the testator intended the first clause to apply
where following the rule will result in an intestacy.
where a gift of the same thing has been made to two persons then both will take some interest in that thing - for instance as joint tenants or in succession
if one gift is in the Will and the other in a codicil the court will usually conclude that the codicil has revoked the Will in respect of that particular gift.