No. 2. c. 6. it, &c., That in all cases where it shall appear any executor, adAct 53 G. 3, ministrator, or guardian, as aforesaid, hath, bona fide, and without collusion or fraud, compounded for, or settled by arbitration, any debt, account, or matter, concerning the trust reposed in him, or concerning the execution thereof, that in every such case such proceedings shall be valid in law, and no executor, administrator, or guardian shall be made chargeable out of his own estate for any actual or supposed loss which may be sustained thereby. Executors may submit accounts, &c. to arbitration. No. 3. Act 4 Vic. c. 23. Declaring Act of Parl. 1 Vic. c. 26, in force. Statute of the Imperial Parliament with respect to wills declared in force. Meaning of certain words in this Act. Will. No. 3.-4 Vic. ch. 23. An Act to declare in force within these Islands a certain statute of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, passed in the First year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, entitled "An Act for the amendment of the Laws with respect to Wills." (February 25th, 1841.) HAT from and after the Thirty-first day of May, in the present one, the said before-mentioned statute shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be in force within these islands, as fully and effectually, to all intents and purposes, as if the said statute contained a provision expressly extending its enactments to this colony, or as if the said statute had been made and enacted by the Legislative Council of these islands; Provided always, nevertheless, That the said statute shall not extend to any will made within these islands before, or on the said Thirty-first day of May, in the present year of our Lord, One thousand eight hundred and forty-one. Act of Parliament, 1 Vic. ch. 26, for the amendment of the laws with respect to Wills, declared in force by preceding Act. I. That the words and expressions hereinafter mentioned, which in their ordinary signification have a more confined, or a different meaning, shall in this Act, except where the nature of the provision or the context of the Act shall exclude such construction, be interpreted as follows; (that is to say,) the word "Will" shall extend to a testament, and to a codicil, and to an appointment by will, or by writing in the nature of a will, in exercise of a power, and also to a disposition by will and testament, or devise of the custody and tuition of any child, by virtue of an Act passed in the Twelfth year 12 Car. 2, c. 24. of the reign of King Charles the Second, entitled an Act for taking away the Court of Wards and Liveries, and tenures in Capite, and by Knight's service, and purveyance, and for settling a revenue upon His Majesty in lieu thereof; or by virtue of an Act passed in 14 & 15 Cap. 2. the Parliament of Ireland, in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth years of the reign of King Charles the Second, entitled an Act for taking away the Courts of Wards and Liveries, and tenures in Capite, and by Knight's service, and to any other testamentary disposition; and the words "Real Estate" shall extend to manors, advowsons, messuages, lands, tithes, rents, hereditaments, whether freehold, Real Estate. No. 3. Act 4 Vic. c. 23. Declaring Act of Parl. 1 Vic. c. 26, in force. customary freehold, tenant right, customary, or copyhold, or of any Personal Estate. II. Repeals Imperial Acts 32 Henry 8, ch. 1, and 34 and 35 Certain Acts Henry 8, ch. 5; also Imperial Acts 10 Car. 1, sess. 2, ch. 2; repealed. and also so much of Imperial Act 29 Car. 2, ch. 3, and Imperial Act 7 Wm. 3, ch. 12, as relates to devises or bequests of lands, or tenements, or to the revocation or alteration of any devise in writing, of any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, or any clause thereof, or to the devise of any estate, per autre vie, or to any such estate being assets, or to nuncupative wills, or to the repealing, altering, or changing of any will in writing, concerning any goods or chattels, or personal estate, or any clause, devise, or bequest therein; and also so much of Imperial Act 4 and 5 Anne, ch. 16, and Imperial Act 6 Anne, ch. 6, as relates to witnesses to nuncupative wills; and also so much of Imperial Act 14 Geo. 2, ch. 20, as relates to estates, per autre vie; and also Imperial Act 25 Geo. 2, ch. 6, except so far as relates to His Majesty's colonies and plantations in America; and also Imperial Act 25 Geo. 2, ch. 11; and also Imperial Act 52 Geo. 3, ch. 152, except so far as the same Acts, or any of them, respectively, relate to any wills or estates, per autre vie to which this Act does not extend. All property may be disposed of by will. III. That it shall be lawful for every person to devise, bequeath, or dispose of, by his will executed in manner hereinafter required, all real estate and all personal estate which he shall be entitled to, either in law or in equity, at the time of his death, and which, if not so devised, bequeathed, or disposed of, would devolve upon the heir-at-law or customary heir of him, or, if he became entitled by descent of his ancestor, or upon his executor or administrator; and that the power hereby given shall extend to all real estate of the nature of customary freehold, or tenant right, or customary, or copyhold, notwithstanding that the testator may not have surrendered the same to the use of his will, or notwithstanding that, being entitled as heir, devisee, or otherwise, to be admitted thereto, he shall not have been admitted thereto, or notwithstanding that the same, in consequence of the want of a custom to devise or surrender to the use of a will or otherwise, could not at law have been disposed of by will if this Act had not been made, or, notwithstanding, that the same, in consequence of there being a custom that a will or a surrender to the use of a will should continue in force for a limited time only, or any other special custom, could not have been disposed of by will according to the power contained in this Act, if this Act had not been made; and also to estates, per autre vie, Estates per whether there shall or shall not be any special occupant thereof, autre vie. No. 3. Act 4 Vic. c. 23. Declaring Act of Parl. 1 Vic. c. 26, in force. Contingent and whether the same shall be freehold, customary freehold, tenant right, customary, or copyhold, or of any other tenure, and whether the same shall be a corporeal or an incorporeal hereditament; and also to all contingent, executory, or other future interests in any real or personal estate, whether the testator may or may not be ascertained as the person, or one of the persons, in whom the same, respectively, may become vested, and whether he may be entitled thereto under the instrument by which the same, respectively, were created, or under any disposition thereof by deed or will; and also to all rights of entry for conditions broken and other rights of entry; and also to such of the same estates, interests, and rights, respectively, and other real and personal estate as the testator may be entitled to at the time of his death, notwithstanding that he may become entitled to the same subsequently to the execution of his will. IV. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That where any real estate of the nature of customary freehold, or tenant right, or customary or copyhold, might by the custom of the manor of which the same is holden, have been surrendered to the use of a will, and the testator shall not have surrendered the same to the use of use of his wife. his will, no person entitled, or claiming to be entitled thereto, by How persons to be admitted where Testa tor does not surrender estate to the Proviso. Wills or ex- relating to cus- virtue of such will, shall be entitled to be admitted, except upon payment of all such stamp duties, fees, and sums of money, as would have been lawfully due and payable in respect of the surrendering of such real estate to the use of the will, or in respect of presenting, registering, or enrolling such surrender, if the same real estate had been surrendered to the use of the will of such testator: Provided also, That where the testator was entitled to have been admitted to such real estate, and might, if he had been admitted thereto, have surrendered the same to the use of his will, and shall not have been admitted thereto, no person entitled, or claiming to be entitled to such real estate in consequence of such will, shall be entitled to be admitted to the same real estate, by virtue thereof, except on payment of all such stamp duties, fees, fine, and sums of money as would have been lawfully due and payable in respect of the admittance of such testator to such real estate, and also of all such stamp duties, fees, and sums of money as would have been lawfully due and payable in respect of surrendering such real estate to the use of the will, or of presenting, registering, or enrolling such surrender, had the testator been duly admitted to such real estate, and afterwards surrendered the same to the use of his will, all which stamp duties, fees, fine, or sums of money due, as aforesaid, shall be paid, in addition to the stamp dutics, fees, fine, or sums of money due or payable on the admittance of such person so entitled, or claiming to be entitled, to the same real estate, as aforesaid. V. That when any real estate of the nature of customary freehold, or tenant right, or customary or copyhold, shall be disposed of by will, the lord of the manor, or reputed manor, of which such real estate is holden, or his steward, or the deputy of such steward, shall cause the will by which such disposition shall be made, or so much thereof as shall contain the disposition of such real estate to be entered on the court rolls of such manor or reputed manor; and when any trusts are declared by the will of such real estate, it shall not be necessary to enter the declaration of such trusts, but it shall be sufficient to state in the entry on the court rolls that such real estate is subject to the trusts declared by such will; and when any such real estate could not have been disposed of by will if this Act had not been made, the same fines, heriot dues, duties, and services shall be paid and rendered by the devisee as would have been due from the customary heir, in case of the descent of the same real estate, and the lord shall, as against the devisee of such estate, have the same remedy for recovering and enforcing such fine, heriot dues, duties, and services as he is now entitled to, for recovering and enforcing the same from or against the customary heir, in case of a No. 3. Act 4 Vic. c. 23. Declaring Act of Parl. 1 Vic. c. 26, in force. And the Lord to Relative to Estates per autre cie. descent. be entitled to the same Fine, &c. as from the Heir in case of descent. VI. That if no disposition by will shall be made of any estate, per autre vie, of a freehold nature, the same shall be chargeable in the hands of the beir, if it shall come to him by reason of special occupancy, as assets by descent, as in the case of freehold land in fee simple; and in case there shall be no special occupant of any estate, per autre vie, whether freehold or customary freehold, tenant right, customary or copyhold, or of any other tenure, and whether a corporeal or incorporeal hereditament, it shall go to the executor or administrator of the party that had the estate thereof by virtue of the grant; and if the same shall come to the executor or administrator, either by reason of a special occupancy, or by virtue of this Act, it shall be assets in his hands, and shall go and be applied and distributed in the same manner as the personal estate of the testator or intestate. Wills by mar ried women invalid. How every Will shall be executed. VII. That no will made by any person under the age of Twenty- No Will made one years shall be valid. by a person under twenty-one years of age valid. VIII. That no will made by any married woman shall be valid, except such a will as might have been made by a married woman before the passing of this Act. IX. That no will shall be valid unless it shall be in writing and executed in manner hereinafter mentioned, that is to say, it shall be signed at the foot or end thereof by the testator, or by some other person in his presence, and by his direction; and such signature shall be made or acknowledged by the testator, in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time, and such witnesses shall attest and shall subscribe the will, in the presence of the testator, but no form of attestation shall be necessary. executed like other Wills, &c. X. That no appointment made by will, in exercise of any Appointments power, shall be valid, unless the name be executed in manner by Will to be hereinbefore required; and every will executed in manner hereinbefore required, shall so far as respects the execution and attestation thereof, be a valid execution of a power of appointment by will, notwithstanding it shall have been expressly required that a will, made in exercise of such power, should be executed with some additional, or other form of execution, or solemnity. XI. Provided always, that any soldier being in actual military Soldiers and service, or any mariner or seaman being at sea, may dispose of mariners exhis personal estate as he might have done before the making of cepted. this Act. XII. That this Act shall not prejudice or affect any of the provisions contained in an Act passed in the eleventh year of the reign of His Majesty King George the Fourth, and the first year of the reign of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, entituled "An Act to amend and consolidate the Laws relating to the pay of the Royal Navy, respecting the Wills of Petty Officers Act not to No. 3. Act 4 Vic. c. 23. Declaring Act of Parl. 1 Vic. c. 26, in force. Will not inva lidated through incompetence of witness. Gifts to an at void. and Seamen in the Royal Navy, and non-commissioned Officers of Marines, and Marines so far as relates to their wages, pay, prize money, bounty money, and allowances, or other moneys payable in respect of services in Her Majesty's Navy." XIII. That every will, executed in manner hereinbefore required, shall be valid without any other publication thereof. XIV. That if any person who shall attest the execution of a will, shall at the time of the execution thereof, or at any time afterwards, be incompetent to be admitted a witness to prove the execution thereof, such will shall not on that account be invalid. XV. That if any person shall attest the execution of any will testing witness to whom, or to whose wife, or husband, any beneficial devise, legacy, estate, interest, gift, or appointment, of or affecting any real or personal estate, (other than and except charges and directions for the payment of any debt or debts,) shall be thereby given or made, such devise, legacy, estate, interest, gift, or appointment, shall, so far only as concerns such person attesting the execution of such will, or the wife or husband of such person, or any person claiming under such person, or wife or husband, be utterly null and void; and such person, so attesting, shall be admitted as a witness to prove the execution of such will, or to prove the validity or invalidity thereof, notwithstanding such devise, legacy, estate, interest, gift, or appointment mentioned in such will. Creditor may be a witness. Executor may be a witness. Will to be revoked by marriage. In what case Wills may be revoked. No alteration to have any effect unless executed as a will. XVI. That in case by any will, any real, or personal estate, shall be charged with any debt or debts, and any creditor, or the wife or husband of any creditor whose debt is so charged, shall attest the execution of such will, such creditor notwithstanding such charge, shall be admitted a witness to prove the execution of such will, or to prove the validity or invalidity thereof. XVII. That no person shall, on account of his being an executor of a will, be incompetent to be admitted a witness to prove the execution of such will, or a witness to prove the validity or the invalidity thereof. XVIII. That every will made by a man or woman, shall be revoked by his or her marriage (except a will made in exercise of a power of appointment, when the real or personal estate, thereby appointed, would not, in default of such appointment, pass to his or her heir, customary heir, executor, or administrator, or the person entitled as his or her next of kin, under the Statute of Distributions). XIX. That no will shall be revoked by any presumption of an intention on the ground of an alteration in circumstances. XX. That no will or codicil or any part thereof, shall be revoked otherwise than as aforesaid, or by another will or codicil, executed in manner hereinbefore required, or by some writing declaring an intention to revoke the same, and executed in the manner in which a will is herein before required to be executed, or by the burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying the same by the testator, or by some person in his presence and by his direction, with the intention of revoking the same. XXI. That no obliteration, interlineation, or other alteration made in any will, after the execution thereof, shall be valid, or have any effect except so far as the words or effect of the will, before |