ADMINISTRATION ACT 1903

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ADMINISTRATION ACT 1903 - SECT 14

14 . Entitlements on intestacy

(1A) In this section —

declared sum , for a specified item, means the sum that applies for that item under an order;

order means an order made by the Minister under section 14A(2);

specified item means any of the following items in the Table —

(a) item 2;

(b) item 3(a) and (b);

(d) item 6;

Table means the Table to subsection (1).

(1) Subject to this section and section 15, where any person (in this section called the intestate ) dies intestate as to all or any of their property, the property as to which they die intestate (in this section called the intestate property ) shall be distributed according to the entitlements set out in the Table —

Table

If the intestate —

1. dies leaving a husband or wife (whether or not other persons mentioned in item 2 or 3 also survive)

the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled, absolutely, to all household chattels included in the intestate property;

2. dies leaving a husband or wife and issue

(a) where the net value of the intestate property (other than the household chattels) does not exceed the sum of $472 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 2 applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to the whole of the intestate property;

(Note provisions of subsection (3))

(b) where the net value of the intestate property (other than the household chattels) exceeds the sum of $472 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 2 applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the surviving husband or wife shall (in addition to the household chattels) be entitled to the sum of $472 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 2 applicable to the intestate, that sum), absolutely, together with interest on that sum in accordance with subsection (4) and, of the residue, the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to one third and the issue shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (2b) to the other two-thirds;

3. dies leaving a husband or wife and one or more of the following, namely, a parent, a brother or sister, or child of a brother or sister, but leaving no issue

(a) where the net value of the intestate property (other than the household chattels) does not exceed the sum of $705 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(a) and (b) applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to the whole of the intestate property;

(b) where the net value of the intestate property (other than the household chattels) exceeds the sum of $705 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(a) and (b) applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the surviving husband or wife shall (in addition to the household chattels) be entitled to the sum of $705 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(a) and (b) applicable to the intestate, that sum), absolutely, together with interest on that sum in accordance with subsection (4), and, of the residue, the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to one-half and, as to the other half —

(i) where the intestate is survived by one parent or both parents —

(A) if the value of that other half does not exceed the sum of $56 500 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(b)(i) applicable to the intestate, that sum) or if no brother, sister, or child of a brother or sister survives the intestate — the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to that other half;

(B) in any other case — the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to the sum of $56 500 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(b)(i) applicable to the intestate, that sum), absolutely, and of the remainder, the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to one-half and the brothers and sisters of the intestate and the children of deceased brothers and sisters of the intestate shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (3a) to the other half;

(ii) where neither parent survives the intestate — the brothers and sisters of the intestate and the children of deceased brothers and sisters of the intestate shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (3a) to the other half;

4. dies leaving a husband or wife but no issue, parent, brother, sister or child of a brother or sister

the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to the whole of the intestate property;

5. dies leaving issue but no husband or wife

the issue shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (2b) to the whole of the intestate property;

6. dies leaving a parent or parents and one or more of the following, namely, a brother or sister, or a child of a brother or sister, but leaving no husband or wife and no issue

(a) where the net value of the intestate property does not exceed the sum of $56 500 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 6 applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to the whole of the intestate property;

(b) where the net value of the intestate property exceeds the sum of $56 500 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 6 applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to the sum of $56 500 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 6 applicable to the intestate, that sum), absolutely, and of the residue, the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to one half and the brothers and sisters of the intestate and the children of deceased brothers and sisters of the intestate shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (3a) to the other half;

7. dies leaving a parent or parents but leaving no husband or wife and no issue, brother, sister or child of a brother or sister

the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to the whole of the intestate property;

8. dies leaving one or more of the following, namely a brother or sister, or a child of a brother or sister, but leaving no husband or wife and no issue or parent

the brothers and sisters of the intestate and the children of deceased brothers and sisters of the intestate shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (3a) to the whole of the intestate property;

9. dies leaving no husband or wife and no issue, parent, brother, sister or child of a brother or sister but leaving a grandparent or grandparents

the grandparent or grandparents shall be entitled (in equal shares where more than one survive the intestate) to the whole of the intestate property;

10. dies leaving no husband or wife and no issue, parent, brother, sister, child of a brother or sister, or grandparent but leaving an uncle or aunt or a child of an uncle or aunt

the uncles and aunts of the intestate and the children of deceased uncles and aunts of the intestate shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (3a) to the whole of the intestate property but in applying that subsection for the purposes of this item a reference in that subsection to a brother or sister, or a child of a brother or sister, of the intestate shall be construed as a reference to an uncle or aunt, or a child of an uncle or aunt, of the intestate, as the case may be;

11. dies leaving no husband or wife and no issue, parent, brother, sister, child of a brother or sister, grandparent, uncle, aunt or child of an uncle or aunt

the whole of the intestate property passes to the Crown by way of escheat.

(1B) In this section, the declared sum for a specified item applicable to an intestate is the declared sum for that specified item under the order that has effect at the time the intestate dies (even if that order later ceases to have effect, including if the order ceases to have effect under the Interpretation Act 1984 section 42(2) as applied by section 14A(5)).

(2) For the purposes of the Table —

(a) household chattels means articles of personal or household use or adornment;

(b) the net value of the intestate property is the net value of that property at the date of the death of the intestate.

(2a) In subsection (2b), a reference to the entitled issue of an intestate means issue of the intestate surviving the intestate and not also being issue of another person who survived, and was issue of, the intestate.

(2b) Where, under the Table, the issue of an intestate is or are entitled to a portion or the whole of the intestate property (which portion or whole, as the case may be, is referred to in this subsection as the relevant property ) —

(a) where a person is the only entitled issue of the intestate, then that person is entitled to all of the relevant property;

(b) where there are 2 or more entitled issue of the intestate and any of them is a child of the intestate, then the relevant property shall be divided into as many equal parts as there are children of the intestate who —

(i) survived the intestate; or

(ii) left issue who survived the intestate,

and a child of the intestate who so survived shall be entitled to one of those parts;

(c) where a person did not survive the intestate but left issue who so survived and that person would, if he had survived the intestate, have been entitled —

(i) under paragraph (a), to all of the relevant property, then the entitled issue of the intestate being also issue of that person shall be entitled to all of the relevant property;

(ii) under paragraph (b), to a part of the relevant property, then the entitled issue of the intestate being also issue of that person shall be entitled to that part of the relevant property,

and where there are 2 or more entitled issue of the intestate being also issue of that person their entitlement under subparagraph (i) or (ii) shall be divided between them under the provisions of this Act (including this paragraph) as if that person had died intestate at the time that the intestate in fact died, the entitlement to be divided were the intestate property of that person, and no person other than those issue were entitled to participate in the distribution thereof.

(3) In applying the provisions of item 2 of the Table to a case where the intestate dies leaving —

(a) a husband or wife and one child; or

(b) a husband or wife and the issue of one child,

the words “one-third” and “two-thirds” in paragraph (b) of that item shall be read as if they were the words “one-half” and “half” respectively.

(3a) Where, under the Table, the brothers and sisters of the intestate and the children of deceased brothers and sisters of the intestate are entitled to a portion or the whole of the intestate property (which portion or whole, as the case may be, is referred to in this subsection as the relevant property ) —

(a) where only one such person survives the intestate, then that person is entitled to all of the relevant property;

(b) where 2 or more such persons survive the intestate and any of them is a brother or sister of the intestate, then the relevant property shall be divided into as many equal parts as there are brothers and sisters of the intestate who —

(i) survived the intestate; or

(ii) left children who survived the intestate,

and a brother or sister of the intestate who so survived shall be entitled to one of those parts;

(c) where any brother or sister did not survive the intestate but left a child or children who so survived, that child shall be entitled or, where there are children, those children, shall be entitled in equal shares —

(i) where that brother or sister would have been entitled under paragraph (a) to all of the relevant property had he or she survived the intestate, to all of the relevant property;

(ii) where that brother or sister would have been entitled under paragraph (b) to a part of the relevant property had he or she survived the intestate, to that part of the relevant property.

(4) Where the intestate dies leaving a husband or wife who is entitled to —

(a) the sum of $$472 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 2 applicable to the intestate, that sum) mentioned in item 2(b) of the Table; or

(b) the sum of $705 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(a) and (b) applicable to the intestate, that sum) mentioned in item 3(b) of the Table,

the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to an amount equal to 5% per annum on the sum to which he or she is so entitled, or on that part of such sum as remains unpaid or unsatisfied, calculated from the date of death of the intestate to the date of the payment of that sum, or the date of the effectual appropriation of that sum in accordance with the provisions of the Trustees Act 1962 , whichever is the earlier of those dates, and the amount to which he or she is entitled under this subsection —

(c) shall be in addition to any other sum, property or share in property, to which he or she is entitled under the Table; and

(d) shall be payable out of the income of the estate of the intestate, or if there is no income or the income is insufficient for that purpose, out of the capital of the residue of the estate.

(5) Subject to subsection (4), the income derived from the intestate property shall be distributed among the persons who are, under the Table, entitled in distribution to that property in the same respective proportions to which they are, under the Table, entitled to share in the distribution of that property.

(6) If —

(a) a surviving husband or wife of the intestate is not entitled to the whole of the intestate property in accordance with this section and section 15; and

(b) there is an interest within the meaning of clause 1(1)(b) of the Fourth Schedule,

then that Schedule applies with respect to that interest.

(7) Subject to subsection (6), where the surviving husband or wife of the intestate is entitled under the Table to share in real property he or she shall accept the value of his or her share in lieu of partition, if so desired by all the persons entitled jointly with him or her.

(8) Subject to subsections (9), (10) and (11), this section shall apply to the estates of all persons who die on or after 1 March 1977.

(9) The amendments effected by section 3 of the Administration Amendment Act 1982 shall apply to the estates of all persons who die on or after the coming into operation of that section.

(10) The estates of all persons who have died intestate as to the whole or any part thereof before the coming into operation of the Administration Amendment Act 1984 shall be distributed in accordance with the enactments and rules of law which would have applied to them if that Act had not been passed.

(11) The estate of a person who dies intestate as to all or any of their property before the day on which the Administration Amendment Act 2022 section 4 comes into operation is to be distributed as if that section had not come into operation.

[Section 14 inserted: No. 138 of 1976 s. 4; amended: No. 103 of 1979 s. 3; No. 48 of 1982 s. 3; No. 57 of 1984 s. 4; No. 57 of 1997 s. 16(1); No. 25 of 2002 s. 52; No. 5 of 2022 s. 4.]

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If the intestate —
1. dies leaving a husband or wife (whether or not other persons mentioned in item 2 or 3 also survive)	the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled, absolutely, to all household chattels included in the intestate property;
2. dies leaving a husband or wife and issue	(a) where the net value of the intestate property (other than the household chattels) does not exceed the sum of $472 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 2 applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to the whole of the intestate property;
(Note provisions of subsection (3))	(b) where the net value of the intestate property (other than the household chattels) exceeds the sum of $472 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 2 applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the surviving husband or wife shall (in addition to the household chattels) be entitled to the sum of $472 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 2 applicable to the intestate, that sum), absolutely, together with interest on that sum in accordance with subsection (4) and, of the residue, the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to one third and the issue shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (2b) to the other two-thirds;
3. dies leaving a husband or wife and one or more of the following, namely, a parent, a brother or sister, or child of a brother or sister, but leaving no issue	(a) where the net value of the intestate property (other than the household chattels) does not exceed the sum of $705 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(a) and (b) applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to the whole of the intestate property;
	(b) where the net value of the intestate property (other than the household chattels) exceeds the sum of $705 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(a) and (b) applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the surviving husband or wife shall (in addition to the household chattels) be entitled to the sum of $705 000 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(a) and (b) applicable to the intestate, that sum), absolutely, together with interest on that sum in accordance with subsection (4), and, of the residue, the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to one-half and, as to the other half — (i) where the intestate is survived by one parent or both parents — (A) if the value of that other half does not exceed the sum of $56 500 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(b)(i) applicable to the intestate, that sum) or if no brother, sister, or child of a brother or sister survives the intestate — the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to that other half;
	(B) in any other case — the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to the sum of $56 500 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 3(b)(i) applicable to the intestate, that sum), absolutely, and of the remainder, the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to one-half and the brothers and sisters of the intestate and the children of deceased brothers and sisters of the intestate shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (3a) to the other half;
	(ii) where neither parent survives the intestate — the brothers and sisters of the intestate and the children of deceased brothers and sisters of the intestate shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (3a) to the other half;
4. dies leaving a husband or wife but no issue, parent, brother, sister or child of a brother or sister	the surviving husband or wife shall be entitled to the whole of the intestate property;
5. dies leaving issue but no husband or wife	the issue shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (2b) to the whole of the intestate property;
6. dies leaving a parent or parents and one or more of the following, namely, a brother or sister, or a child of a brother or sister, but leaving no husband or wife and no issue	(a) where the net value of the intestate property does not exceed the sum of $56 500 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 6 applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to the whole of the intestate property;
	(b) where the net value of the intestate property exceeds the sum of $56 500 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 6 applicable to the intestate, that sum) — the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to the sum of $56 500 (or, if there is a declared sum for item 6 applicable to the intestate, that sum), absolutely, and of the residue, the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to one half and the brothers and sisters of the intestate and the children of deceased brothers and sisters of the intestate shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (3a) to the other half;
7. dies leaving a parent or parents but leaving no husband or wife and no issue, brother, sister or child of a brother or sister	the parent or parents shall be entitled (in equal shares where both survive the intestate) to the whole of the intestate property;
8. dies leaving one or more of the following, namely a brother or sister, or a child of a brother or sister, but leaving no husband or wife and no issue or parent	the brothers and sisters of the intestate and the children of deceased brothers and sisters of the intestate shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (3a) to the whole of the intestate property;
9. dies leaving no husband or wife and no issue, parent, brother, sister or child of a brother or sister but leaving a grandparent or grandparents	the grandparent or grandparents shall be entitled (in equal shares where more than one survive the intestate) to the whole of the intestate property;
10. dies leaving no husband or wife and no issue, parent, brother, sister, child of a brother or sister, or grandparent but leaving an uncle or aunt or a child of an uncle or aunt	the uncles and aunts of the intestate and the children of deceased uncles and aunts of the intestate shall be entitled in accordance with subsection (3a) to the whole of the intestate property but in applying that subsection for the purposes of this item a reference in that subsection to a brother or sister, or a child of a brother or sister, of the intestate shall be construed as a reference to an uncle or aunt, or a child of an uncle or aunt, of the intestate, as the case may be;
11. dies leaving no husband or wife and no issue, parent, brother, sister, child of a brother or sister, grandparent, uncle, aunt or child of an uncle or aunt	the whole of the intestate property passes to the Crown by way of escheat.