PART II

Devolution of Real and Personal Estate on Death

10. —(1) The real and personal estate of a deceased person shall on his death, notwithstanding any testamentary disposition, devolve on and become vested in his personal representatives.

(2) The personal representatives for the time being of a deceased person are deemed in law his heirs and assigns within the meaning of all trusts and powers.

(3) The personal representatives shall be the representatives of the deceased in regard to his real and personal estate and shall hold the estate as trustees for the persons by law entitled thereto.

(4) The references in this section to the real and personal estate of a deceased person are to property to which he was entitled for an estate or interest not ceasing on his death, and include property over which he exercised by will a general power of appointment.

(5) This section shall apply to property vested on any trust in a deceased person solely, as it applies to his real and personal estate.

11. —(1) 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 estate tail.

(2) Dower and tenancy by the curtesy are hereby abolished.

(3) Escheat to the State and escheat to a mesne lord for want of heirs are hereby abolished.

12. —(1) All enactments (including this Act) and rules of law relating to—

(a) the effect of representation as respects personal estate,

(b) the dealing with personal estate before representation,

(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,

shall, so far as applicable, apply to real estate as if it were personal estate; and subsequent provisions of this section shall not prejudice the generality of this subsection.

(2) All jurisdiction of any court with respect to the appointment of administrators or otherwise with respect to the grant of representation 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 representation shall, unless containing an express limitation to the contrary, have effect as well over the real as over the personal estate.

13. —Where a person dies intestate, or dies testate but leaving no executor surviving him, his real and personal estate, until administration is granted in respect thereof, shall vest in the President of the High Court who, for this purpose, shall be a corporation sole.

14. —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.

15. —(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 been passed.

(2) The word “heir” or “heirs”, used as a word of purchase in any enactment, deed or instrument passed or executed before the commencement of this Act, shall bear the same meaning as if this Act had not been 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 VI to the estate of the ancestor if the ancestor had died intestate.

(4) Subject as aforesaid, references 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 to refer to his personal representatives.