Intestacy Act 2010 (Tas)

Intestacy Act 2010

An Act to make provision for the distribution of intestate estates and for other purposes [Royal Assent 14 October 2010]

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

PART 1 - Preliminary

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Intestacy Act 2010 .

2. Commencement This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.

3. Purpose of Act The purpose of this Act is to revise and re-state the rules for distribution on intestacy.

4. Interpretation In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – brother or sister – a person is the "brother or sister" of another person if they have one or both parents in common; Court means the Supreme Court; deceased person – a "deceased person" is a person who did not survive the intestate; eligible relative means a relative of the intestate who is entitled to share in the distribution of the intestate estate under Part 3 ; Indigenous person is a person who – (a) is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent; and (b) identifies as an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander; and (c) is accepted as an Aboriginal person by an Aboriginal community or as a Torres Strait Islander by a Torres Strait Islander community; intestate – see section 5 ; intestate estate means – (a) in the case of an intestate who leaves a will, property that is not effectively disposed of by will; and (b) in any other case, all the property left by the intestate; land valuer has the same meaning as in the Land Valuers Act 2001 ; leave – a person "leaves" another if the person dies and is survived by the other; personal effects of an intestate means the intestate's tangible personal property except the following: (a) property used exclusively for business purposes; (b) banknotes or coins (unless forming a collection made in pursuit of a hobby or for some other non-commercial purpose); (c) property held as a pledge or other form of security; (d) property (such as gold bullion or uncut diamonds) – (i) in which the intestate has invested as a hedge against inflation or adverse currency movements; and (ii) which is not an object of household, or personal, use, decoration or adornment; (e) an interest in land (whether freehold or leasehold); personal representative of an intestate means a person who distributes, or proposes to distribute, the intestate estate under a grant of letters of administration, an order having equivalent effect or a statutory authorisation; predecease – a person is taken to "predecease" the intestate if the person does not survive the intestate; presumptive share of an intestate estate of a deceased eligible relative of the intestate means the entitlement the relative would have had if he or she had survived the intestate; spouse – see section 6 ; statutory legacy for a spouse – see section 7 ; survive – see section 8 .