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ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - LONG TITLE
An Act to make provision with respect to the devolution and
distribution of the estates of deceased persons and to amend the
law with respect to the representation of deceased persons, the
administration of their estates and related matters.
[13th December 1955]
PART I
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 1
1.(1) Real estate to which a deceased person was entitled for an
estate or interest not ceasing on his death shall on his death,
notwithstanding any testamentary disposition, devolve upon and become
vested in his personal representatives from time to time as if it
were personal estate vesting in them, and shall on intestacy be
distributed in accordance with Part II as if it were the personal
estate of an intestate who died domiciled in Northern Ireland.
(2) Personal representatives shall be the representatives of a
deceased person in regard to his real estate as well as in regard
to his personal estate, and probate and letters of administration
may be granted either separately in respect of real estate and in
respect of personal estate, or in respect of real estate together
with personal estate and may be granted in respect of real estate
although there is no personal estate, or in respect of personal
estate although there is no real estate so, however, that where the
estate of the deceased person is known to be insolvent, the grant
shall not be severed except as regards a trust estate.
(3) Without prejudice to the succeeding provisions of this section
all existing rules, modes and canons of descent and of devolution
by special occupancy are hereby abolished except in so far as they
may apply to the descent of an entailed estate or interest.
(4) Dower and tenancy by the curtesy are hereby abolished.
(5) Escheat to the Crown and escheat to a mesne lord for want of
heirs are hereby abolished.
(6) This section shall apply to any real estate over which a
person exercises by will a general power of appointment, as if it
were real estate vested in him.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 2
Further assimilation of law respecting real and personal estates of
deceased persons.
2.(1) All enactments (including this Act) and rules of law relating
to
(a)the effect of probate or letters of administration as respects
personal estate;
(b)the dealing with personal estate before probate or letters of
administration;
(c)the powers, rights, duties, and liabilities of personal
representatives in respect of personal estate;
(d)the payment of costs of administration; and
(e)all other matters with respect to the administration of personal
estate;
(2) All jurisdiction of any court with respect to the appointment
of administrators or otherwise with respect to the grant of probate
or letters of administration as respects personal estate shall extend
over, and be exercisable in relation to, real estate as if it were
personal estate and the rights, as respects citations to see
proceedings, of persons interested or claiming to be interested in
the real estate of a deceased person shall be the same as those
of persons interested or claiming to be interested in the personal
estate of that deceased person.
(3) A grant of probate or letters of administration shall, unless
containing an express limitation to the contrary, have effect as
well over the real as over the personal estate and the personal
representatives of a deceased person shall hold his real estate as
trustees for the persons by law entitled thereto.
Subs.(4) rep. by 1958 c.10 (NI) s.75 sch.
(5) In the administration of the assets of a deceased person, his
real estate shall be administered, subject to and in accordance with
the provisions of Part IV, in the same manner and with the same
incidents as if it were personal estate.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 3
Vesting of estate before grant of administration.
3. All the estate, real as well as personal, of an intestate
shall, until administration is granted in respect thereof, vest in
the Probate Judge in the same manner and to the same extent as
the personal estate of an intestate would, apart from this Act,
have vested in such Judge.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 4
Abolition of term ""real representative'' and construction of
references to estates of deceased persons.
4.(1) The term "real representative" shall cease to be used and the
term "representatives" shall, unless the contrary intention appears,
mean personal representatives.
(2) References in the subsequent provisions of this Act and in any
subsequent enactment to the estate of a deceased person shall,
unless the contrary intention appears, include references to both the
real and personal estate of that deceased person.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 5
Construction of references to heirs.
5.(1) The word "heir" or "heirs" used as a word of limitation in
any enactment, deed or instrument passed or executed either before
or after the commencement of this Act, shall have the same effect
as if this Act had not passed.
(2) The word "heir" or "heirs" used as a word of purchase in any
enactment, deed or instrument passed or executed after the
commencement of this Act, shall bear the same meaning as if this
Act had not passed.
(3) The word "heir" or "heirs" used as a word of purchase in any
enactment, deed or instrument passed or executed after the
commencement of this Act shall, unless the contrary intention
appears, be construed to mean the person or persons, other than a
creditor, who would be beneficially entitled under Part II to the
estate of the ancestor if the ancestor had died intestate.
(4) Subject as aforesaid, references in this Act and in any
enactment, deed or instrument passed or executed either before or
after the commencement of this Act to the heirs of any person,
shall be construed as including references to his personal
representatives.
Rules for the distribution on intestacy.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 6
6. All estate to which a deceased person was entitled for an
estate or interest not ceasing on his death and as to which he
dies intestate after the commencement of this Act shall, after
payment of all debts, duties and expenses properly payable thereout,
be distributed in accordance with this Part.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 7
Rights of surviving spouse.
7.(1) The surviving spouse of the intestate shall take the personal
chattels.
(2) If an intestate dies leaving a spouse and issue the surviving
spouse shall, in addition to the personal chattels, take
(a)where the net value of the remaining estate does not exceed
[#25,000], the whole of the remaining estate;
(b)where the net value of the remaining estate exceeds [#25,000],
the sum of [#25,000], free of all duties, charges and costs, and
shall have a charge upon the remaining estate for that sum with
interest thereon at the rate of four pounds per centum per annum
[or at such other rate as the head of the Department of Finance
may specify by an order made subject to affirmative resolution] from
the date of the death of the intestate until the date of payment
thereof, together with
(i)where only one child of the intestate also survives, one-half of
any residue left of the remaining estate after providing for that
sum and the interest thereon;
(ii)where more than one child of the intestate also survives,
one-third of any residue left of the remaining estate after
providing for that sum and the interest thereon.
(3) For the purposes of the last preceding sub-section, if a child
of the intestate predeceased him leaving issue who survive the
intestate, the surviving spouse of the intestate shall take the same
share of the estate as if the child had survived the intestate.
(4) If an intestate dies leaving a spouse and no issue, but
leaving parents or brothers or sisters or issue of deceased brothers
or sisters, the spouse shall, in addition to the personal chattels,
take
(a)where the net value of the remaining estate does not exceed
[#55,000], the whole of the remaining estate;
(b)where the net value of the remaining estate exceeds [#55,000]
(i)the sum of [#55,000], free of all duties, charges and costs, and
shall have a charge upon the remaining estate for that sum with
interest thereon at the rate of four pounds per centum per annum
[or at such other rate as the head of the Department of Finance
may specify by an order made subject to affirmative resolution] from
the date of the death of the intestate until the date of payment
thereof together with
(ii)one-half of any residue left of the remaining estate after
providing for that sum and the interest thereon.
[(4A) The Minister of Home Affairs may from time to time by order,
subject to affirmative resolution, substitute larger amounts for the
amounts mentioned in sub-sections (2) and (4) of this section but
the amounts substituted in sub-section (2)(b) by any such order
shall be the same as the amount substituted by that order in
sub-section (2)(a) and the amounts substituted in sub-section (4)(b)
by any such order shall be the same as the amount substituted by
that order in sub-section (4)(a).
(4B) Any order under sub-section (4A) shall have effect, and shall
supersede any previous order, in relation to the estate of any
person dying after the coming into force of the order.]
(5) If an intestate dies leaving a spouse but neither issue nor
parents nor brothers nor sisters nor issue of deceased brothers or
sisters, the spouse shall take the whole of his estate.
(6) In this section references to the net value of the estate, or
any part of the estate, of an intestate are references to the
estimated market value thereof as at the date of the death of the
intestate, after payment of all duties and charges thereon and of
debts, funeral expenses and expenses of administration.
(7) Nothing in this section shall prejudice or affect the operation
of section fifteen of the Matrimonial Causes Act (Northern Ireland),
1939, [or Article 20(2) of the Matrimonial Causes (Northern Ireland)
Order 1978], with respect to the property of a wife who has been
judicially separated from her husband.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 8
Rights of issue.
8. If an intestate dies leaving issue his estate shall, subject to
the rights of the surviving spouse, if any, be distributed per
stirpes among such issue.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 9
Rights of parents.
9. If an intestate dies leaving no issue, his estate shall, subject
to the rights of the surviving spouse, if any, be distributed
between his parents in equal shares if both survive the intestate,
but if only one parent survives the intestate, such surviving parent
shall, subject as aforesaid, take the whole estate.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 10
Rights of brothers and sisters and their issue.
10.(1) If an intestate dies leaving neither issue nor parent, his
estate shall, subject to the right of the surviving spouse, if any,
be distributed between his brothers and sisters in equal shares, and
if any brother or sister predeceases the intestate the surviving
issue of the deceased brother or sister shall take per stirpes the
share that brother or sister would have taken if he or she had
survived the intestate.
(2) If an intestate dies leaving neither issue nor parent nor
brother nor sister, his estate shall, subject to the rights of the
surviving spouse, if any, be distributed per stirpes among the issue
of his brothers and sisters.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 11
Rights of next-of-kin.
11.(1) If an intestate dies leaving neither spouse nor issue nor
parent nor brother nor sister nor issue of any deceased brother or
sister, his estate shall, subject to the succeeding provisions of
this Part, be distributed in equal shares among his next-of-kin.
(2) Where any uncle or aunt of the intestate (being brother or
sister of a parent of the intestate) who would have been, or been
included among, such next-of-kin if he or she had survived the
intestate has predeceased the intestate leaving issue who survive the
intestate such issue shall represent that uncle or aunt and shall
by such representation take per stirpes the share that uncle or
aunt would have taken as next-of-kin if he or she had survived the
intestate.
(3) Representation of next-of-kin shall not be admitted amongst
collaterals except in the case of issue of brothers and sisters of
the intestate and issue of uncles and aunts of the intestate.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 12
Ascertainment of next-of-kin.
12.(1) Subject to the rights of representation mentioned in
sub-section (2) of the last preceding section, the person or persons
who at the date of the death of the intestate stand nearest in
blood relationship to him shall be taken to be his next-of-kin.
(2) Degrees of blood relationship of a direct lineal ancestor shall
be computed by counting upwards from the intestate to that ancestor
and degrees of blood relationship of any other relative shall be
ascertained by counting upwards from the intestate to the nearest
ancestor common to the intestate and that relative, and then
downward from that ancestor to the relative, but, where a direct
lineal ancestor and any other relative are so ascertained to be
within the same degree of blood relationship to the intestate, the
other relative shall be preferred to the exclusion of the direct
lineal ancestor.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 13
Saving for children begotten but not born.
13. Descendants and relatives of the intestate begotten before his
death but born thereafter, shall inherit as if they had been born
in the lifetime of the intestate and had survived him.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 14
Half-blood.
14. Relatives of the half-blood shall be treated as, and shall
inherit equally with, relatives of the whole blood in the same
degree.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 15
Operation of provisions for distribution or taking per stirpes.
15. Where under any provision of this Act an intestate's estate or
any share therein is to be distributed per stirpes among, or taken
per stirpes by, the issue or surviving issue of any person, any
issue more remote than a child of that person shall take through
all degrees, according to their stocks, in equal shares if more
than one, the share which the parent of such issue would have
taken if living at the death of the intestate, and no issue of
that person shall take if the parent of such issue is living at
the death of the intestate and so capable of taking.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 16
Rights of the Crown.
16.(1) In default of any person taking the estate of an intestate
under the foregoing provisions of this Part, that estate shall pass
to the Crown as bona vacantia.
(2) Nothing in this section shall affect the operation, in relation
to any tenancy to which section three of the Land Law (Ireland)
Act, 1881, applies, of so much of that section as provides that
where the tenant of such a tenancy dies intestate and without
leaving any person entitled to his personal estate, or any part
thereof, the tenancy shall pass to the landlord, subject, however,
to the debts and liabilities of the deceased tenant.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 17
Advancements to be brought into account.
17.(1) If any child of an intestate has been advanced by the
intestate by way of portion, the advancement shall be reckoned, for
the purposes of this section only, as part of the estate of the
intestate distributable according to law; and, if the advancement is
equal to or greater than the share of the estate which the child
would be entitled to receive under this Part, the child or his
issue shall be excluded from any share in the estate; but if the
advancement is not equal to such share, the child or his issue
shall be entitled to receive so much only of the estate of the
intestate as is sufficient to make all the shares of the children
in the estate and advancement equal as nearly as can be estimated.
(2) The value of the advancement shall be deemed to be that, if
any, which has been expressed in writing by the intestate; otherwise
the value shall be reckoned as at the date of the advancement.
(3) The onus of proving that a child has been given money, by way
of advancement, shall be upon the person so asserting, unless the
advancement has been expressed in writing by the intestate.
(4) In this section references to advancements by the intestate by
way of portion shall include references to advancements by settlement
from the intestate.
(5) For the purposes of this section, the personal representatives
may employ a duly qualified valuer.
(6) This section shall apply to advancements made by a grandparent
dying intestate to a grandchild to whom he stood in loco parentis
as it applies to advancements made by an intestate to a child of
the intestate and accordingly, in relation to any such
first-mentioned advancements
(a)references in this section to a child shall, except as provided
by paragraph (b), be construed as references to the grandchild;
(b)the reference in sub-section (1) to the shares of the children
in the estate and advancement shall be construed as a reference to
the shares which the respective stocks of the issue of the
intestate would take per stirpes therein.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 18
Partial intestacy.
18. Where the will of a testator effectively disposes of part only
of his estate, then, unless it appears by the will that his
personal representatives are intended to take beneficially the
remainder of his estate, the personal representatives shall, subject
to their powers and rights for the purposes of administration, hold
the remainder of his estate upon trust for the persons who would
have been entitled thereto under this Part if the testator had died
intestate and left no other estate.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 19
Construction of documents.
19.(1) References to any Statutes of Distribution in an instrument
inter vivos made, or in a will coming into operation, after the
commencement of this Act, shall, unless the contrary thereby appears,
be construed as references to this Part; and references in such an
instrument or will to statutory next-of-kin shall, unless the
contrary thereby appears, be construed as referring to the persons
who would take beneficially on an intestacy under the foregoing
provisions of this Part.
(2) Trusts declared by reference to the Statutes of Distribution in
an instrument inter vivos made, or in a will coming into operation,
before the commencement of this Act shall, unless the contrary
thereby appears, be construed as referring to the enactments (other
than the Intestates' Estates Act, 1890) relating to the distribution
of effects of intestates which were in force immediately before the
commencement of this Act.
Part III (ss.20-28) rep. by 1971 c.25 s.12 sch.2 Pt.I; 1971 c.31
(NI) s.8(1)(2) sch. Pt.I; 1979 NI 14 art.43(3) sch.3
Real and personal estate of deceased are assets for payment of
debts.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 29
29.(1) The real and personal estate, whether legal or equitable, of
a deceased person, to the extent of his beneficial interest therein,
and the real and personal estate of which a deceased person in
pursuance of any general power disposes by his will, are assets for
payment of his debts (whether by specialty or simple contract) and
liabilities, and any disposition by will inconsistent with this
enactment is void as against the creditors, and the court shall, if
necessary, administer the property for the purpose of the payment of
the debts and liabilities.
(2) This section takes effect without prejudice to the rights of
incumbrancers.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 30
Administration of assets.
30.(1) Where the estate of a deceased person is insolvent, his real
and personal estate shall be administered in accordance with the
rules set out in Part I of the First Schedule.
Subs.(2) rep. by 1971 c.31 (NI) s.8(1)(4) sch. Pt.III
(3) Where the estate of a deceased person is solvent his real and
personal estate shall, subject to rules of court and the provisions
hereinafter contained as to charges on property of the deceased, and
to the provisions, if any, contained in his will, be applicable
towards the discharge of the funeral, testamentary and administration
expenses, debts and liabilities payable thereout in the order
mentioned in Part II of the First Schedule.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 31
Charges on property of deceased to be paid primarily out of the
property charged.
31.(1) Where a person dies possessed of, or entitled to, or, under
a general power of appointment by his will disposes of, an interest
in property, which at the time of his death is charged with the
payment of money, whether by way of legal or equitable mortgage or
charge or otherwise (including a lien for unpaid purchase money),
and the deceased person has not by will, deed or other document
signified a contrary or other intention, the interest so charged
shall, as between the different persons claiming through the deceased
person, be primarily liable for the payment of the charge; and
every part of the said interest, according to its value, shall bear
a proportionate part of the charge on the whole thereof.
(2) Such contrary or other intention shall not be deemed to be
signified
(a)by a general direction for the payment of debts or of all the
debts of the testator out of his personal estate, or his residuary
real and personal estate, or his residuary real estate; or
(b)by a charge of debts upon any such estate;
(3) Nothing in this section affects the right of a person entitled
to the charge to obtain payment or satisfaction thereof either out
of the other assets of the deceased or otherwise.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 32
Powers of personal representatives to sell or transfer.
32.(1) The personal representatives may sell the whole or any part
of the estate of a deceased person for the purpose not only of
paying debts, but also (whether there are or are not debts) of
distributing the estate among the persons beneficially entitled
thereto, and before selling for the purposes of distribution the
personal representatives shall, so far as practicable, give effect to
the wishes of the persons of full age for the time being
beneficially entitled to the property proposed to be sold, or, in
the case of dispute, of the majority (according to the value of
their combined interests) of such persons so, however, that
(a)a purchaser shall not be concerned to see that the personal
representatives have complied with such wishes; and
(b)it shall not in any case be necessary for any person
beneficially entitled to concur in any such sale.
(2) It shall not be lawful for some or one only of several joint
personal representatives, without leave of the court, to exercise any
power conferred by this section or by section forty to dispose of
any land, save that where probate is granted to one or some of
several persons named as executors, whether or not power is reserved
to the others or other to prove, the disposition of the land may,
notwithstanding any other provision or rule of law to the contrary,
be made by the proving executor or executors, without leave of the
court, as fully and effectually as if all the persons named as
executors had concurred therein. Where a disposition is so made by
the proving executor or executors sub-section (1) and the said
section forty shall have effect as if references therein to personal
representatives were references to the proving executor or executors.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 33
Protection of bona fide purchasers.
33.(1) A purchaser, in good faith and for value, from the personal
representatives of a deceased person, of any property, being the
whole or part of the estate of that deceased person, shall be
entitled to hold that property freed and discharged from any debts
or liabilities of the deceased person, except such as are charged
thereon otherwise than by the will of the deceased person, and from
all claims of the persons beneficially entitled thereto, and shall
not be concerned to see to the application of the purchase money.
(2) A purchaser in good faith and for value of any property to
which this sub-section applies, being the whole or part of the
estate of a deceased person, which has been transferred by the
personal representatives to the person beneficially entitled thereto,
or to the vesting of which in the person beneficially entitled
thereto the personal representatives have assented, shall be entitled
to hold that property freed and discharged from the claims of
creditors of the deceased person except claims of which the
purchaser had actual or constructive notice at the time of his
purchase.
(3) Sub-section (2) applies to all property other than registered
land.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 34
General provisions as to assent or transfer by personal
representatives.
34.(1) In this and the next succeeding section
(a)references to the land of a testator or intestate are references
to land to which the testator or intestate was entitled or over
which he exercised a general power of appointment by will; and
(b)the expression "person entitled" includes, in relation to any
estate or interest in the land of a testator or intestate
(i)the persons or person (including the personal representatives of
the testator or intestate or any of them) who (whether by devise,
bequest, devolution, appropriation or otherwise) may be beneficially
entitled to that estate or interest; and
(ii)the trustees or trustee or the personal representatives or
representative of any such persons or person.
(2) Without prejudice to any other power conferred by this Act on
personal representatives with respect to any land of a testator or
intestate, the personal representatives may execute an assent vesting
any estate or interest in any such land in the person entitled
thereto, or may transfer any such estate or interest to the person
entitled thereto and may make the assent or transfer either subject
to or free from a charge for the payment of any money which the
personal representatives are liable to pay; and where the assent or
transfer is made subject to a charge for all moneys, if any, which
the personal representatives are liable to pay, all liabilities of
the personal representatives in respect of the land shall cease,
except as to any acts done or contracts entered into by them
before the assent or transfer.
(3) At any time after the expiration of one year from the death
of an owner of land, if the personal representatives have failed on
the request of the person entitled to transfer, by assent or
otherwise, the land to the person entitled, the court may, if it
thinks fit, on the application of the person entitled and after
notice to the personal representatives, order that the transfer be
made, and in default of compliance with that order within the time
specified therein by the court, may make an order vesting the land
in the person entitled as fully and effectually as might have been
done by a transfer thereof by the personal representatives.
(4) An assent not in writing shall not be effectual to pass any
estate or interest in land.
(5) The statutory covenants implied by a person being expressed in
a deed to convey as personal representative shall also be implied
in any assent signed by a personal representative unless the assent
otherwise provides.
(6) It shall not be lawful for some or one only of several joint
personal representatives, without leave of the court, to make any
assent or transfer under this section, save that:
(a)where probate is granted to one or some of several persons named
as executors, whether or not power is reserved to the others or
other to prove, such assent or transfer may, notwithstanding any
other provision or rule of law to the contrary, be made by the
proving executor or executors, without leave of the court, as fully
and effectually as if all the persons named as executors had
concurred therein; and
(b)where the proving executor or executors exercise any power
conferred by the preceding paragraph this section and the next two
succeeding sections shall have effect as if references therein to
personal representatives were references to the proving executor or
executors.
(7) The court may order land not specifically devised or land
vested in a personal representative as such to be sold on such
terms and within such period as may appear reasonable, and, on the
failure of the personal representative to comply with such order,
the court may, on the application of the person entitled or any
person beneficially interested, direct a sale of the lands upon such
terms as it thinks fit.
(8) This section shall not operate to impose any stamp duty in
respect of an assent.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 35
Special provisions as to unregistered land.
35.(1) An assent to the vesting of any estate or interest in
unregistered land of a testator or intestate in favour of the
person entitled thereto shall
(a)be in writing;
(b)be signed by the personal representatives;
(c)be deemed, for the purposes of the Registration of Deeds Acts,
to be a conveyance of that estate or interest from the personal
representatives to the person entitled;
(d)operate, subject to the provisions of the Registration of Deeds
Acts with respect to priorities, to vest that estate or interest in
the person entitled subject to such charges and encumbrances, if
any, as may be specified in the assent and as may otherwise affect
that estate or interest; and
(e)subject to the said provisions, be deemed (unless a contrary
intention appears therein) for all purposes necessary to establish
the title of the person entitled to intervening rents and profits,
to relate back to the date of the death of the deceased person
so, however, that nothing in this paragraph shall operate to enable
any person to establish a title inconsistent with the will of the
deceased person.
(2) Any person in whose favour an assent or conveyance of any
unregistered land is made by personal representatives may at his own
expense require the personal representatives to register that assent
or conveyance in the Registry of Deeds pursuant to the Registration
of Deeds Acts.
(3) An assent or conveyance of unregistered land by a personal
representative shall, in favour of a purchaser, be taken as
sufficient evidence that the person in whose favour the assent or
conveyance is given or made is the person who was entitled to have
the estate or interest to which the assent relates vested in him
but shall not otherwise prejudicially affect the claim of any person
originally entitled to that estate or interest or to any charge or
encumbrance thereon.
S.36 rep. with savings by 1970 c.18 (NI) s.97 sch.14
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 37
Powers of personal representative as to appropriation.
37.(1) The personal representative may appropriate any part of the
estate of the deceased person in the actual condition or state of
investment thereof at the time of appropriation in or towards
satisfaction of any legacy bequeathed by the deceased person, or of
any other interest or share in his property, whether settled or
not, as to the personal representative may seem just and reasonable,
according to the respective rights of the persons interested in the
property of the deceased person:
Provided that
(a)an appropriation shall not be made under this section
(i)so as to affect prejudicially any specific devise or bequest; or
(ii)unless notice of the intended appropriation has been served on
all parties interested in the residuary estate (other than persons
who may come into existence after the time of the appropriation or
who cannot be found or ascertained at that time) any one of which
parties may within six weeks from the service of such notice on
him apply to the court to prohibit the appropriation;
(b)an appropriation of property, whether or not being an investment
authorised by law or by the will, if any, of the deceased person
for the investment of money subject to the trust, shall not (save
as in this section mentioned) be made under this section except
with the following consents:
(i)when made for the benefit of a person absolutely and beneficially
entitled in possession, the consent of that person;
(ii)when made in respect of any settled legacy, share or interest,
the consent of either the trustee thereof, if any (not being also
the personal representative), or the person who may for the time
being be entitled to the income:
(b)If the person whose consent is so required as aforesaid is an
infant or a person of unsound mind the consent shall be given on
his behalf by his parents or parent, testamentary or other guardian,
committee or receiver, or if, in the case of an infant there is
no such parent or guardian, by the court on the application of his
next friend;
(c)no consent (save of such trustee as aforesaid) shall be required
on behalf of a person who may come into existence after the time
of appropriation, or who cannot be found or ascertained at that
time;
(d)if no committee or receiver of a person of unsound mind has
been appointed, then, if the appropriation is of an investment
authorised by law or by the will, if any, of the deceased person
for the investment of money subject to the trust, no consent shall
be required on behalf of the person of unsound mind;
(e)if, independently of the personal representative, there is no
trustee of a settled legacy, share or interest, and no person of
full age and capacity entitled to the income thereof, no consent
shall be required to an appropriation in respect of such legacy,
share or interest, provided that the appropriation is of an
investment authorised as aforesaid.
(2) Any property duly appropriated under the powers conferred by
this section shall thereafter be treated as an authorised investment,
and may be retained or dealt with accordingly.
(3) For the purposes of such appropriation, the personal
representative may ascertain and fix the value of the respective
parts of the real and personal estate and the liabilities of the
deceased person as he may think fit, and may for that purpose
employ a duly qualified valuer in any case where such employment
may be necessary; and may make any conveyance or transfer (including
an assent) which may be requisite for giving effect to the
appropriation.
(4) Unless the court on an application made to it under
sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of the proviso to sub-section
(1) otherwise directs, an appropriation made pursuant to this section
shall bind all persons interested in the property of the deceased
person whose consent is not hereby made requisite.
(5) The personal representative shall, in making the appropriation,
have regard to the rights of any person who may thereafter come
into existence, or who cannot be found or ascertained at the time
of appropriation, and of any other person whose consent is not
required by this section.
(6) This section does not prejudice any other power of appropriation
conferred by law or by the will, if any, of the deceased person,
and takes effect with any extended powers conferred by the will, if
any, of the deceased person, and where an appropriation is made
under this section, in respect of a settled legacy, share or
interest, the property appropriated shall remain subject to all
trusts for sale and powers of leasing, disposition, and management
or varying investments which would have been applicable thereto or
to the legacy, share or interest in respect of which the
appropriation is made, if no such appropriation had been made.
(7) If after any property has been appropriated in purported
exercise of the powers conferred by this section, the person to
whom it was conveyed disposes of it or any interest therein, then,
in favour of a purchaser in good faith and for value, the
appropriation shall be deemed to have been made in accordance with
the requirements of this section and after all requisite notices and
consents, if any, had been given.
(8) In this section, a settled legacy, share or interest includes
any legacy, share or interest to which a person is not absolutely
entitled in possession at the date of the appropriation, also an
annuity.
(9) This section applies whether the deceased person died intestate
or not, and whether before or after the commencement of this Act,
and extends to property over which a testator exercises a general
power of appointment, and authorises the setting apart of a fund to
answer an annuity by means of the income of that fund or
otherwise.
(10) Where any property is appropriated under the provisions of this
section a transfer thereof by the personal representatives to the
person to whom it is appropriated shall not, by reason only that
the property so transferred is accepted by the person to whom it
is transferred in or towards the satisfaction of a legacy or a
share in residuary estate, be liable to any higher stamp duty than
that payable on a transfer of personal property for the like
purpose.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 38
Power to appoint trustees of infant's property.
38.(1) Where an infant is absolutely entitled under the will or on
the intestacy of any person dying before or after the commencement
of this Act to the estate of the deceased person or to the
residue thereof or to any share therein or to any devise or legacy
and such estate, residue, share, devise or legacy is not under the
will, if any, of the deceased person devised or bequeathed to
trustees for the infant, the personal representatives of the deceased
person may appoint any two or more persons (whether or not
including the personal representatives or any of them) to be
trustees of such estate, residue, share, devise or legacy for the
infant and may execute such assurance or take such other action as
may be necessary for vesting such estate, residue, share, devise or
legacy, as the case may be, in the trustees so appointed. One of
the persons so appointed may be a trust corporation.
(2) On such appointment the personal representatives, as such, shall
be discharged from all further liability in respect of the property
vested in the trustees so appointed, which may be retained in its
existing condition or state of investment or may be converted into
money and invested in any security in which a trustee in England
would by virtue of section one of the Trustee Act, 1925, as
amended by section four of the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act, 1945, be entitled to invest in the absence of any
direction to the contrary in the trust instrument, with power, at
the discretion of the trustees, to change such investments for
others of a like nature.
(3) Where an infant becomes entitled to any estate or interest in
land under an intestacy and by reason of the intestacy there is no
instrument under which the estate or interest of the infant arises
or is acquired, a settlement shall be deemed for the purposes of
the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, to have been made by the
intestate or by the person whose interest the infant has acquired
and, if there are more than one personal representative, the
personal representatives, or, where trustees of that land have been
appointed by the personal representatives under this section, those
trustees, shall for the purposes aforesaid be deemed to be the
trustees of that settlement.
(4) Personal representatives or any trustees appointed by them under
this section shall be deemed to be trustees for the purposes of
sections forty-two and forty-three of the Conveyancing and Law of
Property Act, 1881.
(5) Without prejudice to their powers under the said sections
forty-two and forty-three, personal representatives or trustees
appointed by them under this section may at any time or times,
with the sanction of the court, pay or apply the capital of any
estate, residue or share therein or any legacy or devise to which
an infant is entitled under the will or on the intestacy of a
deceased person for the advancement or benefit of the infant in
such manner as the court may approve and the court may on any
application made to it under this section order such capital or any
part thereof to be lodged in court until the infant attains
[eighteen] or marries under that age.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 39
Right to follow property in hands of beneficiary.
39. Property which has been transferred or appropriated by personal
representatives to a person beneficially entitled thereto shall, so
long as it remains vested in that person, or in any person
claiming under him not being a purchaser in good faith and for
value, continue to be liable to answer the debts of the deceased
person as it would have been liable if it had remained vested in
the personal representatives; and in the event of a sale or
mortgage thereof in good faith and for value by such person
beneficially entitled or by any person claiming under him not being
a purchaser in good faith and for value, he shall continue to be
personally liable for such debts to the extent to which such
property was liable when vested in the personal representative, but
not beyond the value thereof.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 40
Powers to deal with estate, etc.
40.(1) The personal representatives of a deceased owner of land may,
in addition to any other powers conferred on them by this Act,
(a)make such leases of the land as may be reasonably necessary for
the due administration of the estate of the deceased owner; or
(b)with the consent of the beneficiaries, or with the approval of
the court, make leases of the land for such term and on such
conditions as the personal representatives may think proper; or
(c)make, on such terms and conditions as the personal representatives
may think proper, a sub fee farm grant of the land, or a
sub-lease thereof with a nominal reversion, where such sub fee farm
grant or sub-lease amounts in substance to a sale and the personal
representatives have satisfied themselves that it is the most
appropriate method of disposing of the land in the course of the
administration of the estate;
(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the [Rent
(Northern Ireland) Order 1978], or in the Business Tenancies
(Temporary Provisions) Acts (Northern Ireland), 1952 and 1954, the
right of the personal representatives to obtain possession of any
premises demised by them pursuant to the power conferred by
paragraph (a) of sub-section (1) shall be exercisable as if those
Acts had not been passed.
(3) Where a sub fee farm grant or sub-lease is executed by
personal representatives pursuant to the power conferred on them by
paragraph (c) of sub-section (1) it shall, until the contrary is
proved, be assumed that the power was properly exercised and the
grantee or lessee (as the case may be) shall not be concerned to
satisfy himself that this was so or to see to the application of
any rent or other moneys payable by him. In this sub-section a
reference to the grantee or the lessee shall include a reference to
a person purchasing from, and to a successor in title of, the
grantee or lessee.
(4) The personal representatives of a deceased person may from time
to time raise money by way of mortgage for the payment of debts,
death duties or other taxes and, with the approval of all the
beneficiaries being sui juris or the court (but not otherwise), for
the erection, repair, improvement or completion of buildings, or the
improvement of lands forming part of the estate of that deceased
person.
(5) Where land is settled by will and there are no trustees of
the settlement, the personal representatives proving the will shall
for all purposes be deemed to be trustees of the settlement until
trustees of the settlement are appointed but a sole personal
representative shall not be deemed to be a trustee for the purposes
of the Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890, until at least one other
trustee is appointed.
(6) This section shall not prejudice or affect any power or duty
of personal representatives to execute any document or do any other
act or thing for the purpose of completing any transaction entered
into by a deceased person before his death.
Subs.(7)(8) rep. by 1969 c.30 (NI) s.132 sch.6
(9) A personal representative of a deceased person may
(a)accept any property before the time at which it is transferable
or payable;
(b)pay or allow any debt or claim on any evidence he may
reasonably deem sufficient;
(c)accept any composition or security for any debt or property
claimed;
(d)allow time for payment of any debt; or
(e)compromise, compound, abandon, submit to arbitration, or otherwise
settle, any debt, account, dispute, claim or other matter relating
to the estate of that deceased;
(f)settle and fix reasonable terms of remuneration for any trust
corporation appointed by him under section thirty-eight to act as
trustee over any property and authorise such trust corporation to
charge and retain such remuneration out of that property
(10) This section shall not prejudice or affect any powers conferred
by will on personal representatives, and the powers conferred by
this section on the personal representatives of a deceased person
who has died testate shall be exercised subject to any provisions
contained in his will with respect to the disposal of his estate.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 41
Time allowed for distribution.
41.(1) The personal representatives of a deceased person shall
distribute his estate as soon after his death as is reasonably
practicable having regard to the nature of that estate, the manner
in which it is required to be distributed and all other relevant
circumstances, but proceedings against the personal representatives in
respect of their failure to distribute shall not, without leave of
the court, be brought before the expiration of one year from the
date of the death of the deceased person.
Subs.(2) rep. by SLR 1976
(3) Nothing in this section shall prejudice or affect the rights of
creditors of a deceased person to bring proceedings against his
personal representatives before the expiration of one year from his
death.
Prescribed forms for reference in wills.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 42
42. The Lord Chief Justice may by order prescribe and publish forms
to which a testator may refer in his will and give directions as
to the manner in which such forms may be referred to, but, unless
so referred to, such forms shall not be deemed to be incorporated
in a will.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 43
Provisions as to jurisdiction.
43.(1) References in this Act to the court shall be construed as
references to the High Court so, however, that where, by virtue of
any provision of this Act or of any enactment relating to the
jurisdiction of the county court, the county court has jurisdiction
under any section of this Act, references in that section to the
court shall include references to the county court.
(2) Without prejudice to the operation of sub-section (1) a county
court shall have jurisdiction (including power to receive payment of
moneys or securities into court) in all applications and proceedings
under section thirty-seven or section thirty-eight [where, at the
date of the death of the deceased person, the property included in
his net estate (that is to say, all property of which he had
power to dispose by his will, otherwise than by virtue of a
special power of appointment, less the amount of his funeral
testamentary and administration expenses, debts and liabilities,
including any capital transfer tax or estate duty payable out of
his estate on his death) did not exceed #15,000 in value] and in
the case of applications or proceedings under section thirty-eight
county court rules may provide that where the value of the estate
or share to which the infant is entitled does not exceed [#1,000]
the powers of the court under that section may be exercised, in
accordance with such rules, by [a circuit registrar].
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 44
Meaning of ""real estate'', etc.
44. For the purposes of this Act
(a)the expression "real estate" includes chattels real, and land in
possession, remainder, or reversion, and every estate or interest in
or over land (including real estate held on trust or by way of
mortgage or security, but not money to arise under a trust for
sale of land, nor money secured or charged on land) to which a
deceased person was entitled at the time of his death;
(b)an estate or interest vested on any trust in any deceased person
solely shall be deemed not to be an estate or interest as to
which that person dies intestate;
(c)the estate or interest of a deceased person in an estate tail
shall be deemed to be an estate or interest ceasing on his death,
but any further or other estate or interest of the deceased person
in remainder or reversion which is capable of being disposed of by
his will shall not be deemed to be an estate or interest so
ceasing;
(d)the estate or interest of a deceased person under a joint
tenancy where any tenant survives the deceased person shall be
deemed to be an estate or interest ceasing on his death;
(e)on the death of a corporator sole his estate or interest in the
corporation's real estate shall be deemed to be an estate or
interest ceasing on his death.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 45
Interpretation.
45.(1) In this Act the expression
"enactment" includes any provision in any Act whether public general,
local or private, and any provision in any Order in Council, order
or regulation made under any Act;
"infant" means a person under the age of [eighteen];
"pecuniary legacy" includes an annuity, a general legacy, a
demonstrative legacy so far as it is not discharged out of the
designated property, and any other general direction by a testator
for the payment of money, including all death duties free from
which any devise, bequest, or payment is made to take effect;
"personal chattels" means carriages, horses, stable furniture and
effects, motor cars and accessories, garden effects, domestic animals,
plate, plated articles, linen, china, glass, books, pictures, prints,
furniture, jewellery, articles of household or personal use or
ornament, musical and scientific instruments and apparatus, wines,
liquors and consumable stores, but does not include any chattels
used at the death of the intestate for business or professional
purposes nor money or security for money;
"personal representatives" means the executors or executor, original
or by representation, or the administrators or administrator for the
time being of a deceased person;
"possession" includes the receipt of, or the right to receive, rents
and profits, if any;
"property" includes all property both real and personal.
(2) Where one of two or more proving executors has died, references
in sub-section (2) of section thirty-two and in sub-section (5) of
section thirty-four to a proving executor or executors shall be
construed as references to the survivor or survivors (as the case
may be) of the proving executors.
S.46(a), with Second Schedule, effects amendments; para.(b), with
Third Schedule, effects repeals
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 47
Savings.
47.(1) Nothing in this Act shall affect any unrepealed enactment
dispensing with probate or administration as respects personal estate
not including chattels real.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall
Para.(a) rep. by 1975 c.7 s.59 sch.13 Pt.I
(b)alter the incidence of any death duty;
(c)affect any remedy of the Ministry of Finance for the recovery of
any death duty.
(3) Except to the extent to which any provision of this Act
expressly provides to the contrary the provisions of this Act shall
not apply to the estate of any person dying before the commencement
of this Act.
(4) Nothing in this Act in any manner affects or alters the
descent or devolution of any property for the time being vested in
Her Majesty either in right of the Crown or of the Duchy of
Lancaster or of any property for the time being belonging to the
Duchy of Cornwall.
(5) Nothing in this Act shall affect the operation of any rule of
law [whereby a person may by reason of his own criminal act be
precluded] from taking any benefit either under the will or on the
intestacy of [another].
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 48
Commencement.
48. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of
January, nineteen hundred and fifty-six.
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1955 - SECT 49
Short title.
49. This Act may be cited as the Administration of Estates Act
(Northern Ireland), 1955.
Section 30.
1. The funeral, testamentary, and administration expenses have
priority.
2. Subject as aforesaid, the same rules shall prevail and be
observed as to the respective rights of secured and unsecured
creditors and as to debts and liabilities provable and as to the
valuation of annuities and future and contingent liabilities
respectively, and as to the priorities of debts and liabilities as
may be in force for the time being under the law of bankruptcy
with respect to the assets of persons adjudged bankrupt.
1. Property of the deceased person undisposed of by will, subject
to the retention thereout of a fund sufficient to meet any
pecuniary legacies.
2. Property of the deceased person not specifically devised or
bequeathed but included (either by a specific or general description)
in a residuary gift, subject to the retention out of such property
of a fund sufficient to meet any pecuniary legacies, so far as not
provided for as aforesaid.
3. Property of the deceased person specifically appropriated or
devised or bequeathed (either by a specific or general description)
for the payment of debts.
4. Property of the deceased person charged with, or devised or
bequeathed (either by a specific or general description) subject to
a charge for, the payment of debts.
5. The fund, if any, retained to meet pecuniary legacies.
6. Property specifically devised or bequeathed, rateably according to
value.
7. Property appointed by will under a general power, rateably
according to value.
8. The following provisions shall also apply
(a)The order of application may be varied by the will of the
deceased.
(b)This part of this Schedule does not affect the liability of land
to answer the death duty imposed thereon in exoneration of other
assets.
Second ScheduleAmendments. Third Schedule rep. by SLR 1973
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