Administration of Estates Act, 1959

Special provisions as to registered land.

22.—(1) For subsection (2) of section 37 of the Act of 1891, as amended by section 27 of and the Second Schedule to the Registration of Title Act, 1942 (No. 26 of 1942), in its application to the estates of persons dying on or after the 1st day of June, 1959, there shall be substituted the following subsections:—

“(2) On the death of a sole registered full owner of land or of the survivor of several registered full owners of land, not being registered as tenants in common (which owner or survivor is in the succeeding provisions of this section referred to as the deceased owner), the personal representatives of the deceased owner shall alone be recognised by the registering authority as having any rights in respect of the land, and any registered dispositions by them shall have the same effect, as if they were the registered owners of the land.

(3) The production of an assent or transfer from the personal representatives in the prescribed form shall authorise the registering authority to register the person named in such assent or transfer as the full owner or limited owner of the land, as the case may be.

(4) Where a person is registered as the full owner or limited owner of land under subsection (3) of this section, the costs incurred in connection with the registration shall be borne by that person.

(5) Where the High Court or the Circuit Court makes an order under subsection (4) of section 20 of the Administration of Estates Act, 1959, vesting registered land in any person, it may also order that that person be registered as owner of that land.

(6) (a) Nothing in this Act or in the Administration of Estates Act, 1959, shall operate to require the registering authority to register as the owner of land a person in his capacity as personal representative.

(b) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1) of section 17 of the Registration of Title Act, 1942 , the registering authority may enter on the register a note setting out the fact of the death of a registered owner of land and the names of his personal representatives.”

(2) Where, on the application of any person claiming to be registered under the Act of 1891 as owner of registered land in succession to a deceased full owner of such land the Court is satisfied—

(a) that at least six years have elapsed since the death of the deceased full owner, and

(b) that the personal representatives of such owner are dead or out of the jurisdiction,

the Court may, if it thinks fit, notwithstanding anything in the Act of 1891 or this Act, dispense the applicant from the necessity of raising representation to the deceased full owner or of giving notice to his personal representatives, and may order that the applicant be registered as owner of the land.