Also known as a specific legacy. A gift of a particular asset (or assets) in a testator's estate to one or more beneficiaries in a will. For example, the following are all specific gifts:

(See also Theobald on Wills (Sweet & Maxwell, 19th edition), Chapter 21 - Types of Legacy: Section 1. - Specific, General, and Demonstrative Legacies.)

The term is also given a specific technical meaning for the purposes of Chapter III of Part II of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984), which sets out rules for the allocation of inheritance tax exemptions in an estate. In that context, "specific gift" means any gift other than a gift of residue or of a share in residue (section 42, IHTA 1984; see McCutcheon on Inheritance Tax (Sweet & Maxwell, 7th edition), Chapter 8 - The Charge on Death, Partly Exempt Transfers and Posthumous Arrangements: Partly Exempt Transfers: Section IX. - Chapter III in Detail at paragraph 8-77 (Specific gift)).

See also the related glossary items, general legacy and demonstrative legacy.