Australian Capital Territory Current Acts

WILLS ACT 1968 - SECT 31C

    (1)     This section applies if—

        (a)     either—

              (i)     a deceased person, by will, devises or bequeaths property to, appoints property in favour of, or gives the power to appoint property to, a person; or

              (ii)     a person is entitled to take an interest in the estate of a deceased person on intestacy; and

        (b)     the person does not survive the deceased person by 30 days.

    (2)     The person is taken to have predeceased the deceased person and the devise, bequest, appointment, power or entitlement lapses, unless the contrary intention appears from the will, or from evidence admitted under section 12B.

    (3)     However, subsection (2) does not apply if the effect of the subsection is that the deceased person's estate would pass to the Territory under the Administration and Probate Act 1929

, section 49CA (How distribution to the Territory is made).

    (4)     A general requirement or condition in a will that a beneficiary survive the testator must not be taken to be an expression of a contrary intention for this section.

    (5)     For subsection (1) (a) (ii), "person" includes a person conceived before, but born after, the deceased person's death.