Inheritance Act, 2002
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INHERITANCE [CH.116 – 1 INHERITANCE CHAPTER 116 INHERITANCE LIST OF AUTHORISED PAGES 1 –27 LRO 1/2002 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY 1. Short title. 2. Interpretation. PART II DISTRIBUTION ON INTESTACY 3. Abolition of descent to heir, curtesy, dower. 4. Succession to real and personal estate on intestacy. 5. Devolution of residuary estate to issue and other classes of relatives of intestate. 6. Right of surviving spouse as respects matrimonial home and household chattel. 7. Application to the Court in respect of appropriation. 8. Partial intestacy. 9. Construction of documents. 10. Savings. 11. Interpretation of Part II. PART III PROVISIONS FOR DEPENDANTS 12. Application for financial provision from deceased’s estate. 13. Power of court to make orders. 14. Matters to which court is to have regard in exercising powers under section 13. 15. Time limit for applications. 16. Interim orders. 17. Variation, discharge, etc., of orders for periodical payments. 18. Payment of lump sums by instalments. 19. Property treated as a part of “net estate”. 20. Property held on a joint tenancy. 21. Effect, duration and form of orders. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– LRO 1/2002 STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS CH.116 – 2] INHERITANCE 22. Provisions as to personal representatives. 23. Interpretation of Part III. PART IV SUPPLEMENTAL 24. Protection against eviction from matrimonial home of spouse. 25. Protection against eviction from matrimonial home of child. 26. Rules. 27. Application of Act. 28. Rule of survivorship. 29. Repeals. FIRST SCHEDULE — Rights of Surviving Spouse as respects the Matrimonial Home. SECOND SCHEDULE — Repeals. STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS LRO 1/2002 INHERITANCE [CH.116 – 3 CHAPTER 116 INHERITANCE An Act providing for succession to the property of 3 of 2002 deceased persons, and in particular the testamentary disposition and distribution on intestacy of such property; to make financial provisions for the dependants of deceased persons; and for connected purposes. [Assent 31st January, 2002] [Commencement 1st February, 2002] PART I PRELIMINARY 1. This Act may be cited as the Inheritance Act, 2002. Short title. 2. (1) In this Act — Interpretation. “administration” means, with reference to the real and personal estate of a deceased person, letters of administration, whether general or limited, or with the will annexed or otherwise; “administrator” means a person to whom adminis- tration of an estate is granted; “conveyance” includes a mortgage, charge by way of legal mortgage, lease, assent, vesting declaration, vesting instrument, disclaimer, release and every other assurance of property or of any interest therein by an instrument, except a will, and “convey” has a corresponding meaning; “the court” means the Supreme Court; “disposition” includes a conveyance, a devise, a bequest and an appointment of property contained in a will, and “dispose of” has a corresponding meaning; “equitable interests” means all other interests and charges subsisting in equity or over land or in respect of the proceeds of sale thereof; “income” includes rents and profits; ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– LRO 1/2002 STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS CH.116 – 4] INHERITANCE “intestate” includes a person who leaves a will but dies intestate as to some beneficial interest in his real or personal estate; “legal estate” means the estate, charge and interest in or over land subsisting or created at law which is by statute authorised to subsist or to be created at law; “personal representative” means the executor (original or by representation) or administrator for the time being of a deceased person; “possession” includes the receipt of rents and profits or the right to receive the same, if any; “probate” means the probate of a will; “probate rules” means rules and orders made by the Ch. 53. Rules Committee established under the Supreme Court Act for regulating the procedure and practice of the Supreme Court in regard to non- contentious or common form probate business; “property” includes a thing in action and any interest in real or personal property; “purchaser” means a lessee, mortgagee or other person who in good faith acquires an interest in property for valuable consideration, also an intending purchaser and “valuable consideration” includes marriage, but does not include a nominal consideration in money; “real estate” save as provided in Part II means real estate, including chattels real, which by virtue of Part II devolves on the personal representative of a deceased person; “Registrar” means the Registrar of the court; “rent” includes a rent service or a rent charge, or other rent, toll, duty, or annual or periodical payment in money or money’s worth, issuing out of or charged upon land but does not include a mortgage interest; “representation” means the probate of a will and administration, and the expression “taking out representation” refers to the obtaining of the probate of a will or of the grant of administra- tion; STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS LRO 1/2002 INHERITANCE [CH.116 – 5 “will” means a will made in accordance with the provisions of the Wills Act, 2002. Ch. 115. (2) A reference to a child or issue living at the death of any person includes — (a) a child or issue en ventre sa mère at the death; (b) a child in respect of whom an adoption order has been made by any court of competent jurisdic- tion. (3) A reference to the estate of a deceased person includes property over which the deceased exercises a general power of appointment including a statutory power to dispose of an entailed interest by the deceased’s will. PART II DISTRIBUTION ON INTESTACY 3. With regard to the real and personal estate of every Abolition of person dying after the commencement of this Act, there descent to heir, shall be abolished — curtesy, dower. (a) all existing modes, rules and canons of descent, and of devolution by special occupancy or otherwise, of real estate, or of personal estate; (b) tenancy by the curtesy; (c) dower. 4. (1) The residuary estate of an intestate shall be Succession to real distributed in the manner mentioned in this section, and personal estate on namely — intestacy. (a) if the intestate leaves a husband or wife and no children, the surviving husband or wife shall take the whole residuary estate; (b) if the intestate — (i) leaves a husband or wife and — (A) one child, the surviving husband or wife shall take one half of the residuary estate and the remainder shall go to the child; (B) children, the surviving husband or wife shall take one half of the residuary estate and the remainder shall be distributed equally among the children; ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– LRO 1/2002 STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS CH.116 – 6] INHERITANCE (ii) leaves children but no husband or wife, the residuary estate shall be distributed equally among the children and where there is only one child that child shall take the whole residuary estate; (iii) leaves no husband or wife and no children the residuary estate shall be distributed equally among the grandchildren and where there is only one grandchild that grandchild shall take the whole residuary estate; (iv) leaves no husband or wife, no children or no grandchildren, the residuary estate shall be distributed between his mother and father in equal shares if both survive the intestate, but, if only one survives the intestate, the survivor shall take the whole residuary estate; (v) leaves no husband or wife or children, grandchildren, mother or father, then the residuary estate shall be distributed in the following manner — firstly, to the brothers and sisters of the intestate in equal shares, and in the absence of any, then secondly, to the nephews and nieces of the intestate in equal shares, and in the absence of any, then thirdly, to the grandparents of the intestate and if more than one survive the intestate, in equal shares, but if there is no member of this class, then fourthly, to the uncles and aunts of the intestate (being brothers or sisters of a parent of the intestate) in equal shares, and if none, then fifthly, to the children of uncles and aunts of the intestate (being brothers or sisters of a parent of the intestate) in equal shares; (c) in default of any person taking an absolute interest under the foregoing provisions, the residuary estate of the intestate shall be dis- tributed to the next of kin and in this paragraph “next of kin” means the closest living relative of the intestate. STATUTE LAW OF THE BAHAMAS LRO 1/2002 INHERITANCE [CH.116 – 7 (2) A husband and wife for all purposes of distribu- tion or division under the foregoing provisions of this section shall be treated as two persons. (3) Where the intestate and the intestate’s husband or wife have died in circumstances rending it uncertain which of them survived the other and the intestate’s husband or wife is by virtue of any other law deemed to have survived the intestate, this section shall nevertheless have effect as respects the intestate as if the husband or wife had not survived the intestate. (4) In this Part, “residuary estate” means every beneficial interest (including rights of entry and reverter) of the intestate in real and personal estate, after payment of all such funeral and administration expenses, debts and other liabilities that are properly paid thereout, which (otherwise than in right of a power of appointment) the intestate could, if of full age and capacity, have disposed of by his will. (5) For the purposes of this Part, “brother” or “sister” in relation to an intestate shall include a child of the father or mother of the intestate. 5. (1) Where under this Part the residuary estate of an Devolution of intestate or any part thereof devolves upon or is directed residuary estate to issue and other to be distributed among the issue of the intestate such classes of residuary estate or part thereof shall be distributed in relatives of equal shares, if more than one, among all or any of the intestate.