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Succession Act, 1965 (No. 27)Introductory TextActs Referred toPart I Preliminary and General (ss. 1-9)1. Short title.2. Commencement.3. Interpretation.4. Meaning of "real estate" and "estate or interest".4A. Succession rights.4B. Special provisions in relation to affected persons.5. Presumption of simultaneous death in cases of uncertainty.6. Jurisdiction.7. Expenses.8. Repeals.9. Savings.Part II Devolution of Real and Personal Estate on Death (ss. 10-15)10. Devolution of real and personal estate.11. Abolition of existing rules of descent, escheat, etc.12. Further assimilation of law respecting real and personal estates of deceased persons.13. Vesting of estate between death and grant of administration.14. Construction of references to estates of deceased persons.15. Construction of references to heirs.Part III Executors and Administrators (ss. 16-25)16. Summons to executor to prove or renounce.17. Cesser of right of executor to prove.18. Withdrawal of renunciation.19. Death of sole or last surviving executor.20. Right of proving executors to exercise powers.21. Executor not to act while administration is in force.22. Protection of persons acting on probate or administration.23. Liability of person fraudulently obtaining or retaining estate of deceased.24. Liability of estate of personal representative.25. Validity of conveyance not affected by revocation of representation.Part IV Grants of Representation (ss. 26-44)26. Grants of probate.27. Grants of administration.27A. Entitlement to grant of probate or administration.28. Representation of real and personal estate separately or together.29. Power to grant representation where no estate.30. Power to grant representation to a trust corporation.31. Grant of special administration where personal representative is abroad.32. Administration during minority of executor.33. Continuance of legal proceedings after revocation of temporary administration.34. Administration bonds.35. Applications for grants and revocations.36. Grants in district probate registries.37. Second and subsequent grants.38. Caveats.39. Calendars of grants.40. Copies of wills, etc., to be delivered to Revenue Commissioners.41. Issue of grants of representation in case of Circuit Court decrees.42. Deposit and inspection of wills and other documents.43. Official copies of wills and grants.44. Trial by jury of questions of fact.Part V Administration of Assets (ss. 45-65)45. Estate of deceased to be assets for payment of debts and legal right.46. Administration of assets.47. Charges on property of deceased to be paid primarily out of the property charged.48. Causes of action surviving on death.49. Distribution of assets after notice to creditors.50. Powers of personal representatives to sell and to act as trustees.51. Protection of purchasers.52. General provisions as to assent or transfer by personal representatives.53. Special provisions as to unregistered land.54. Special provisions as to registered land.55. Powers of personal representatives as to appropriation.56. Right of surviving spouse or civil partner to require dwelling and household chattels to be appropriated.57. Appointment by personal representatives of trustees of infant's property.58. Powers of trustees of infant's property.59. Right to follow property.60. Powers to deal with estate, etc.61. Purchasers from personal representatives.62. Time allowed for distribution.63. Advancements to children to be brought into account.64. Duty of personal representatives as to inventory.65. Administration on behalf of the State.Part VI Distribution on Intestacy (ss. 66-75)66. Rules for distribution on intestacy.67. Shares of surviving spouse and issue.67A. Shares of surviving civil partner and issue.67B. Share of issue where no surviving spouse or surviving civil partner.68. Shares of parents.69. Shares of brothers and sisters and their children.69A. Share of relatives: special provision.70. Shares of next-of-kin.71. Ascertainment of next-of-kin.72. Half-blood.72A. Distribution of disclaimed estate.73. State as ultimate intestate successor.74. Partial intestacy.75. Construction of documents.Part VII Wills (ss. 76-100)76. Property which may be disposed of by will.77. Capacity to make a will.78. Signing and witnessing will.79. Appointments by will.80. Publication of will not necessary.81. Will not void on account of incompetency of witness.82. Gifts to an attesting witness, or spouse of witness, to be void.83. Creditor attesting will charging estate with debts admissible as witness.84. Executor admissible as witness.85. Revocation of will.86. Alterations in will after execution.87. Revoked will not revived otherwise than by re-execution or codicil.88. Subsequent conveyance or other act not to prevent operation of will.89. Will to speak from death of testator.90. Extrinsic evidence as to will.91. Residuary devise or bequest to include estate comprised in lapsed and void gifts.92. General devise of land to include leasehold as well as freehold.93. General gift of realty or personalty to include property over which testator has general power of appointment.94. Devise of real estate without words of limitation to pass whole estate.95. Creation of estates tail.96. Meaning of "die without issue".97. Devise of estate tail not to lapse where inheritable issue survives.98. Gifts to children or other issue who leave issue living at testator's death.99. Interpretation of devise or bequest in case of doubt.100. Restriction on executory limitations.Part VIII Conflict of Laws relating to Testamentary Dispositions (ss. 101-108)101. "Testamentary disposition".102. Validity as regards form.103. Dispositions made on board vessel or aircraft.104. Exercise of power of appointment.105. Joint dispositions.106. Effect of restrictions on capacity.107. Construction of testamentary disposition.108. Effect of testamentary disposition under Part VII.Part IX Legal Right of Testator's Spouse and Provision for Children (ss. 109-119)109. Application of Part IX.110. Legitimated, illegitimate and adopted persons.111. Right of surviving spouse.111A. Right of surviving civil partner.112. Priority of legal right.113. Renunciation of legal right.113A. Renunciation of legal right.114. Effect of devise or bequest to spouse or civil partner.115. Election between legal right and rights under a will and on partial intestacy.116. Provision in satisfaction of legal right.117. Provision for children.118. Estate duty.119. Proceedings to be in chambers.Part X Unworthiness to Succeed and Disinheritance (ss. 120-122)120. Exclusion of persons from succession.121. Dispositions for purpose of disinheriting spouse or children.122. Proceedings to be in chambers.Part XI Limitation of Actions (ss. 123-127)123. Personal representative, as such, not a trustee under Statute of Limitations, 1957.124. "Trustee" in Statute of Limitations, 1957, not to include a bailiff.125. Persons entitled to shares in land.126. Actions in respect of estates of deceased persons.127. Limitation period in case of disability.Part XII Provisions relating to Probate Office and District Probate Registries (ss. 128-131)128. Assistant Probate Officer.129. District probate registries.130. Fees to be taken at district probate registries.131. Acting district probate registrars.First Schedule - Rules as to Application of AssetsFirst Schedule, Part I Rules as to payment of debts where the estate is insolventFirst Schedule, Part II Order of application of assets where the estate is solventSecond Schedule - RepealsSecond Schedule, Part I English StatutesSecond Schedule, Part II Pre-Union Irish StatutesSecond Schedule, Part III British StatutesSecond Schedule, Part IV Statutes of Saorstát Éireann and of the Oireachtas
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AI Summary of 5. Presumption of simultaneous death in cases of uncertainty.

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Version status: In force | Document consolidation status: Updated to reflect all known changes
Version date: 20 July 2008 - onwards
Version 3 of 3

5. Presumption of simultaneous death in cases of uncertainty.

(1) Where, after the commencement of this Act, two or more persons have died in circumstances rendering it uncertain which of them survived the other or others, then, for the purposes of the distribution of the estate of any of them, they shall all be deemed to have died simultaneously. 

(2) Where immediately prior to the death of two or more persons they held any property as joint tenants and they died, or under subsection (1) were deemed to have died, simultaneously, they shall be deemed to have held the property immediately prior to their deaths as tenants in common in equal shares.

(3) Property deemed under subsection (2) to have been held by persons as tenants in common shall form part of their respective estates.

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