Succession Act 1965 section 4

Meaning of "real estate" and "estate or interest"

Section 4 defines the terms "real estate" and "estate or interest" for the purposes of the Succession Act, and clarifies which property interests are treated as ending at death and which continue to form part of a deceased person's estate.

• "Real estate" is broadly defined to include land and interests in land, including leasehold interests and mortgaged property, but excludes money arising from a trust for sale of land or money merely secured on land.
• Certain interests — such as an estate tail (a type of inherited interest limited to direct descendants) or a joint tenancy where another tenant survives — are treated as ending on the deceased's death and do not pass through their estate.
• However, if the deceased held additional interests in land beyond the estate tail, such as a remainder or reversion that could be disposed of by will, those interests do not cease at death and remain part of the estate.
• A deceased person's interest in real estate is not treated as ceasing on death merely because they left no next-of-kin, whether due to illegitimacy or any other reason.