outlive the person on whose life the annuity depends, and thus destroy the reversionary interest of the legatees appointed by the will to take the residue after his decease. An executor in such a case is bound to make a provision according to some equitable plan, for securing the interest of the legatees in reversion, as well as that of the legatee who takes the limited interest. In charging the duty, the Legacy Duty Office would value the annuity by the proper table or rule in the Act, and would take four pounds per cent. on such value as the income of the legatee for life.

But if any different arrangement be made bonà fide between the parties, and under any special circumstances, the office will take such arrangement into consideration, with a view to making the assessment of duty accord therewith, if it seem fair and reasonable so to do.

In any case of an annuity redeemable for a certain sum, if the value of such annuity, by the tables in the 36th Geo. III. c. 52, be less than the sum for which the annuity may be redeemed, the value by such tables is the sum on which legacy duty is to be charged; but if the value so ascertained be more than the sum for which the annuity may be redeemed, then the legacy duty is to be charged on the redeeming sum.

A policy of insurance on the life of another person than the testator, will not only afford no benefit to a residuary legatee for life, but will be a deduction from his benefit under the will, unless, according to the form of the residuary bequest, the executor should deem it proper to sell the policy, and invest the produce. Where the policy is not to be sold, a deduction must be made in respect of the future premiums, and the amount of the deduction will be the value of an annuity of the same amount as the annual premium for a life of the age of a person whose life is insured; such value to be found by the table No. 1, in the 36th Geo. III. c. 52. (See Appendix.) And should the life drop, and the policy be paid in the lifetime of the residuary legatee for life, the sum will be to be invested, and the income arising therefrom

will be an additional annuity, to be valued and charged with duty in the manner before directed as to annuities.

But where a policy of insurance on another life is given absolutely, whether specifically or as a part of residue, its value must be ascertained, and duty paid thereon as on any other species of property. In ordinary cases the actuary of the insurance office will acquaint the holder of the policy with its present value: or he may ascertain its value by the following mode, viz:-From the amount of the premium which would be payable for the sum insured, including all bonuses that may have been added to the original sum, according to the present age of the life on which the insurance is made, deduct the premium actually payable on the policy, and the difference is an annuity, which being valued by table No. 1, for the life insured at its present age, gives the value of the policy.

The personal estate of a domiciled subject of Great Britain, in whatever part of the world it may be located, at the time of his decease, is chargeable with legacy duty, and must therefore be included in the residuary account (if forming part of the residue), or be paid upon separately, if specifically bequeathed.

And that which would be real or heritable property in persons not engaged in trade, if belonging to partners in trade, and purchased with partnership capital, is personal estate as between their heirs and representatives, and is therefore liable to legacy duty, and must be included in the

account.

It sometimes happens that by reason of a long chancery suit, during which the executors or some of them have died, the duties are not accounted for to the Legacy Duty Office until the means of rendering such an account as is required in ordinary cases are entirely lost, and the person on whom the duty of accounting with the office has devolved has no other documents to guide him, than the papers which belong to the suit. In such cases a form called a Chancery Abstract (for which see Appendix), is substituted for the foregoing residuary account.

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If an executor or administrator before delivering a residuary account should apply for a return of probate duty and in so doing prove to the satisfaction of the commissioners that the estate of the deceased is insolvent, the claim against him for legacy duty will, upon the same evidence, be discharged in the official register and the usual residuary account will not be called for.

PART IV.

INTESTACIES.

THE office of an administrator, so far as regards the payment of legacy duty, is much more simple than that of an executor. After having ascertained the amount and value of the property, and the sums to be paid thereout for the funeral, the expenses of the administration, and the debts, he has first to discover who are the parties entitled to share the clear residue, as the next of kin of the deceased; secondly, to divide it among them according to law; and thirdly, to pay the duty according to such division. In page 3 of this work, the persons who are entitled to letters of administration of the effects of any person deceased, intestate, are shown in the order in which they are ranked, in respect of priority of title; and the following table shows the share to which each person, or class of persons, is entitled, under every variety of circumstances:

If the deceased was not a freeman of London, and died in the province of the Archbishop of Canterbury:—

1. The wife. . . . is entitled to one-third, (if the deceased left a child or children, or other lineal descendant); or one-half, if the deceased left no lineal descendant.

2. 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 consanJ guinity, in dividing among them the

whole, or the two-thirds, as the case may be, the following rule is to be observed, viz.:

Where the division is to be made among claimants, all of whom are removed in an equal degree from the intestate, as where they are all children, or all grandchildren, or all great grandchildren, they are to share equally; or, as it is termed in law, per capita; but where the division is to be made among 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 be divided into two parts, the child would take one to himself, and the other would be divisable into three parts, each of the two grandchildren would take one-third, and the other third would again be divided into four, for the four great grandchildren. Perhaps the following diagram will show this more plainly :