Succession Act 1981 (Qld)

Succession Act 1981

An Act to consolidate and amend the law of succession and the administration of estates of deceased persons and for related purposes

Part 1 Preliminary

1 Short title This Act may be cited as the Succession Act 1981.

2 [Repealed]

3 [Repealed]

4 Application (1) Save where otherwise expressly provided, this Act applies in the case of deaths occurring after the commencement of this Act. (2) This Act binds the Crown not only in right of the State but also, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.

5 Definitions In this Act— adopted child means, in relation to any person, a child that is adopted by such person or by such person and another person jointly, in accordance with the law of the State or Territory, or country, where the adoption takes place, as in force at the date of the adoption. annulment see section 15. country means any place or group of places having its own law of nationality, including Australia and its Territories. court means the Supreme Court or a judge thereof. debts include funeral, testamentary and administration expenses, debts and other liabilities payable out of the estate of a deceased person. disposition means a disposition by will and includes the following— (a) a gift, devise or bequest of property by a will; (b) the creation by will of a power of appointment affecting property; (c) the exercise by will of a power of appointment affecting property. divorce see section 15. document— (a) for part 2, other than section 18, means any paper or material on which there is writing; or (b) for section 18, see the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, schedule 1. grant means grant of probate of the will or letters of administration of the estate of a deceased person and includes the grant of an order to administer and the filing of an election to administer such an estate. income includes rents and profits. internal law, for part 2, in relation to a place, means the law that would apply if no question of the law in force in any other place arose. interpret means to render orally into another language one person's words for other persons at the time the words are uttered or immediately thereafter. intestate means a person who dies and either does not leave a will, or leaves a will but does not dispose effectively by will of the whole or part of his or her property. pecuniary legacy includes an annuity, a general legacy, a demonstrative legacy, so far as it is not discharged out of the designated property, and any other general direction by the testator for the payment of money including all duties relating to the estate or property of a deceased person free from which any devise, bequest or payment is made to take effect. personal representative means the executor, original or by representation, or administrator of a deceased person. public trustee means the public trustee constituted by the Public Trustee Act 1978. registrar, for part 2, means a registrar or deputy registrar of the Supreme Court. residuary estate in part 3 has the meaning given to it by section 34 and in part 5, division 2, the meaning given to it by section 55. spouse see section 5AA. stepchild for part 4, see section 40A. translate means to render in writing or by any other means of record a text from one language to another language. trustee includes— (a) any person who immediately before l July 1973, was a trustee of the settlement or in any way a trustee under the Settled Land Act 1886 and who, if that Act had not been repealed, would be such a trustee; and (b) a statutory trustee within the meaning of the Trusts Act 1973. will includes a codicil and any other testamentary disposition.