Succession Act 1965 section 3

Interpretation

Section 3 provides definitions of key terms used throughout the Succession Act 1965, establishes rules for children conceived before but born after a person's death, and explains how an estate is divided among descendants on a per stirpes basis.

• Key terms such as "administration", "personal representative", "probate", "legal right", "share" and "will" are defined for consistent use throughout the Act.
• A "legal right" means the statutory right of a surviving spouse or civil partner to a share in the deceased's estate under sections 111 and 111A respectively.
• A child conceived before but born alive after the deceased's death is treated as having been born during the deceased's lifetime and as having survived the deceased.
• Where an estate is distributed "per stirpes", the surviving children of a deceased child step into their parent's shoes and share equally the portion their parent would have received.