to take declarations and affirmations, and to exercise any other powers which can be exercised by Commissioners of the Court of Probate. In the necessary absence of the registrar of the County Court, applicants may be sworn and execute any necessary documents at the office of the said registrar before any Commissioner of the Court of Probate.

5. Any rules and orders and tables of fees requisite for carrying this Act into operation shall be framed, and may from time to time be altered, by the Judge of the Court of Probate, subject as regards the tables of fees to the approval of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury; and such proportions of the said fees as the said Judge, with such approval as aforesaid, shall think proper, may be made payable to the registrars of the County Courts acting in the said matters, but the total amount to be charged to applicants shall not in any one case exceed the sums mentioned in the schedule to this Act.

6. Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect any duty now payable on letters of administration. 7. The provisions of this Act shall apply to Ireland, subject to the modifications following (that is to say):

The term the "Registrar of the County Court" shall be construed to mean the " Registrar of the Civil Bill Court: " The term "Court of Probate" shall be construed to mean the "Court of Probate in Dublin."

SCHEDULE.

Where the whole estate and effects of the intestate shall not exceed in value twenty pounds, the sum of five shillings; and where the whole estate and effects shall exceed in value twenty pounds, the sum of five shillings, and the further sum of one shilling for every ten pounds, or fraction of ten pounds, by which the value shall exceed twenty pounds.

CHAPTER XIII.

DESCRIBES HOW AN INTESTATE'S ESTATE MUST BE DIVIDED AMONGST HIS NEXT OF KIN ACCORDING TO THE STATUTE OF DISTRIBUTION, WITH A TABLE OF CONSANGUINITY.

THE WIFE is entitled to one-half if the deceased left no children, or one-third if he left a child or children.

A CHILD OR CHILDREN, OR LINEAL DESCENDANT OR DESCENDANTS, IN ANY DEGREE HOWEVER REMOTE.—The whole if there be no wife, or two-thirds if there be a wife; and where there is more than one child or other person in this line of consanguinity, in dividing among them the whole, or the twothirds, as the case may be, this rule must be observed. Where

54

Diagram of Intestacy.

the division has to be made among claimants, all of whom are removed in an equal degree from the intestate, as when they are all children, or all grandchildren, or all great-grandchildren, they are to share equally; but where the division is to be made between claimants, some of whom are more distantly removed than others from the intestate, those in the lower degree take among them a share of the same amount as that which belongs to each of the claimants in the next nearer degree to the intestate, so that if there should be one child and two grandchildren descended from a deceased child, and four great-grandchildren descended from a third grandchild by the same deceased child, the property would primarily be divided into two parts; the child would take one to himself, and the other would be divisible into three parts, each of the grandchildren would take one-third, and the other third would again be divided into four for the four great-grandchildren, as shown by the following diagram:

The children are in the first degree removed from the intestate, the grandchildren in the second, and the greatgrandchildren in the third degree.

In dividing the residue of any deceased person's estate, this distinction between lineal descendants and the descendants of

Distribution of Estate.

55

collaterals must never be lost sight of, namely, that lineal descendants are entitled, however far they may be removed from the parent-stock, whereas collaterals below the second degree are not entitled to share with others of a nearer degree. THE FATHER,—the whole, if there be no widow or child, or other lineal descendant.

THE MOTHER,-where there is no widow, child, lineal descendant, or father, the same share as a brother or sister; and where there is no brother or sister, but there are nephews and nieces, then the estate must be divided into as many shares as there are families of nephews and nieces, with an additional share for the mother; but where there shall be neither wife, child, father, brother, sister, nephew, nor niece, then the mother takes the whole.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND THEIR CHILDREN.-Where there is no father, or widow, or child, or other lineal descendant, brothers and sisters take the whole amongst them, or the whole to one, if only one; but the children of any deceased brother or sister take amongst them, in equal portions, the share to which their parent would have been entitled if living. Should there be nephews and nieces only, they take per capita. Hence, if there should be one brother and ten children of a deceased brother, the brother is entitled to one-half, and the other moiety must be divided among the ten children of the deceased brother. But if there should be no brother or sister living, and one deceased brother should have left one child only, and another deceased brother should have left ten children, the residue must be divided among the eleven in equal shares. Where there are nephews and nieces, but no brother or sister, the former share equally per capita with uncles and aunts.

We have before stated that no representation among collaterals is admitted below the second degree, that is, the children of brothers and sisters. Nevertheless, if there should be no brothers or sisters, or nephews or nieces, the grandchildren of a brother or sister will be entitled in an equal degree with the children of an uncle or aunt.

GRANDFATHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS share equally without distinction, whether by the side of the mother or father of the intestate. They take precedence of uncles and aunts.

UNCLES AND AUNTS take equally, whether on the side of the father or mother; and the children of any deceased uncle or aunt do not share with uncles and aunts living. If there should be both uncles and aunts, and nephews and nieces,

56

Table of Consanguinity.

both sets of relations share equally; but great-nephews and great-nieces are not admitted to share with uncles and aunts. COUSINS share equally with each other, and become entitled, in default of any nearer kindred, according to their degree of consanguinity to the deceased.

The following table, from Toller's "Law of Executors," will assist the reader in understanding the various degrees of consanguinity:

Inland Revenue Official Letter.

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Previous to the passing of the Act 20 & 21 Vict., c. 77, s. 46, peculiar customs prevailed as to the division of the property of intestate freemen who died in the cities of London and York ; but as that Act abolished those customs, and assimilated the mode of distribution to that which obtains in all other parts of England, it is only necessary here to say that such an alteration has taken place.

It will likewise be observed in reading the seventh chapter that a somewhat different mode of proceeding to prove wills and obtain administration prevails in Ireland and Scotland; but it is beyond the scope of this book to do more than intimate that such differences do exist.

CHAPTER XIV.

AS TO THE OFFICIAL LETTER SENT BY THE BOARD, AND THE ABSTRACTS OF THE ACTS OF PARLIAMENT IMPOSING AND REGULATING THE PAYMENT OF DUTIES.

SOON after a will is proved or administration granted, in whatever registry the same may be accomplished, a copy is sent to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, whom we shall hereafter, when having occasion to speak of them, or of the Controller of Legacy and Succession Duties, the Solicitor of Inland Revenue, or any other person acting under them, designate "the Board." Such copy is then abstracted into the proper books, and afterwards filed. In a few weeksusually from one to two months—an official letter, in the following form, is sent to the executors, enclosing abstracts of the Acts of Parliament regulating the payment of duties :—

"Register S. T., of the year 1874. Folio 287.

"It is particularly requested that the above reference be copied in all Letters, Receipts, and Accounts relating to this subject.

"SOMERSET HOUSE, LONDON, W.C.

"LEGACY AND SUCCESSION DUTY DEPARTMENT,

"Ist September 1874.

SIR,-I enclose abstracts of the Acts by which duties are charged upon legacies and other successions to property, for the guidance