Intestate Estates in New Zealand

If a person dies without making a will, he or she is said to have died "intestate". Since there is no will, the deceased person's property is distributed according to rules laid down in the Administration Act 1969.

In order for someone to have authority to distribute the deceased's estate, an application must be made to the court for it to grant "letters of administration" for the estate, which means that the court appoints a person, usually a close surviving relative, as the "administrator" of the estate. (By contrast, if there is a will the executor appointed under it applies to the High Court for it to grant "probate" of the will:

The administrator is the personal representative of the deceased and has authority to deal with and distribute the deceased's estate in accordance with the rules in the Administration Act 1969. The administrator fills the same role as the executor under a will.

You need to apply in writing to the High Court. Except when someone is contesting the issue, the application is made "ex parte", which means it's not necessary to give notice of the application to anyone else.

The application must use the general format shown in Form 20 of the High Court Rules (which is in the Second Schedule to the Judicature Act 1908. Usually applications are made through a lawyer; if you do use a lawyer, he or she must certify that the application is correct. The application must be filed in the High Court registry nearest to where the deceased was living when he or she died or, if the deceased wasn't living in New Zealand, at the registry nearest to where the deceased's property is.

If someone challenges you being granted letters of administration (for instance, claiming that a valid will exists), the process is more complicated and will involve a trial in the High Court. You must apply "in solemn form", which means you file a statement of claim under the standard procedure for civil proceedings in the High Court. You name as defendants the people who are contesting the issue and the people who, if you are unsuccessful, may be entitled to a grant of probate (if they are claiming a valid will exists) or letters of administration. The defendants then have the opportunity to file a statement of defence and, if they wish to, a counterclaim.

There is an order of priority to aid the court in determining who to appoint as administrator - the surviving spouse, or the surviving civil union or de facto partner children parent’s brothers and sisters grandparents uncles and aunts, or failing them their children to determine how the deceased's estate distributed.

The Administration Act 1969 sets out the rules of intestacy, state who will receive the property. Generally the property goes to family members.

If the deceased had a husband or wife or a civil union or de facto partner, but no surviving parents or direct descendants, the spouse or partner will get all of the estate.

If there is a spouse or partner and also direct descendants, the spouse or partner will receive all the personal chattels, the first $121,500 of the estate and a one-third share of the remaining property. The other two thirds go to the direct descendants.

If there is a spouse or partner, no direct descendants but surviving parents, the spouse or partner receives all the personal chattels, the first $121,500 of the estate and two thirds of the remaining property, with one third going to the surviving parents.

If there are direct descendants but no husband or wife or civil union or de facto partner, the estate goes to the direct descendants.

If the deceased did not have a surviving spouse or partner nor any direct descendants, the deceased's parents will receive the whole estate.

If there are no parents, the deceased's brothers and sisters or their direct descendants receive the estate.

If there are no brothers and sisters, nor any of their descendants, the estate is shared between grandparents or, if none, aunts and uncles.

If none of these parties exist, the Crown will receive the property.

De facto partners were included in the above provisions on 1 February 2002, but only where the deceased died on or after that date.

Civil union partners were included in the above provisions on 26 April 2005.

Wills, Probate, & Letters of Administration in New Zealand

The deceased's Will is probated at the Court nearest to where the Executor resided or was convenient for him or her. Included in a Will/Probate files/applications are supporting documents and these may include Affidavits, Powers of Attorney, Death certificates etc.

Letters of Administration with Will annexed

A testator may have left a Will and for various reasons this Will can not be probated because:

1. The Executors named were deceased, incapacitated, bankrupt, overseas or could not or would not Act

2. The Will may not have been signed, witnessed, dated or have any Executors appointed etc

In the above circumstances application is made to the Court (a bond may be required) by the next of kin usually the spouse or eldest issue or by appointment of the Public Trustee. Letters of Administration with the Will annexed would be issued by the Court appointing an Administrator to administer the Estate.

Since 1929, an Intestate estate follows the line of what the average person would have done if a Will had been made.

Since 1939 an Act protects the family not mentioned in a Will. They are allowed reasonable maintenance from income.

Succession, Legacy & Residuary Duty Registers.

The registers of three duties or taxes payable on estates from 1867 to 1976 a register was kept for each tax. A person's name was entered in each with some appearing until 1910.

Testamentary Registers 1876 - 1962

Documented single death duty payable 1876 to 1962.

Death Duties was payable on all estates for which Probate was granted and cover at least half of the deaths in New Zealand. Most of these records are from Wellington areas. However, under the Inland Revenue Act 1974, all registers from 1921 onwards are restricted, and so it is only possible to search the entries up to 1921.

Probates & Letters of Administration

Prior to 1842, New South Wales had jurisdiction over our legal system. New Zealand followed England using Courts to seal Probate and Letters of Administration. The first Supreme Court was established in 1842 and the name of the court was changed in 1980 to the High Court.

The Original Will is required for Probate and referenced by the Court.

Probate and Letters of Administration are usually granted at the Court nearest to where the deceased lived e.g. if the deceased died in Palmerston North but lived in Wellington the Probate or Letters of Administration would be granted at Wellington.

Exceptions

• If the deceased was not resident in New Zealand at the time of death but still owned property in New Zealand, probate would be granted at the nearest court to where the deceased's property was located
• if the deceased owned several properties in New Zealand then probate would be granted at the Wellington High Court
• if the deceased owned property in two different countries then probate would be granted in the country of origin and an Exemplification of Probate would be issued and the other country appointing an agent to act with the agent possibly being a law firm or relative
• If the deceased appointed a Trust company as Executor of an Estate, probate may be granted at the Court nearest to the Head Office of the company.
• The Guardian Trust & N.Z.I http://www.guardiantrust.co.nz head offices were based in Auckland
• The Perpetual Trust and Trustee Executor head offices were originally based in Dunedin and now have 7 offices http://www.perpetual.co.nz

Census Substitutes in Australia & New Zealand

                           Electoral Rolls in Australia & New Zealand

In Australia & New Zealand the governments of both countries made the unfortunate decision in the name of PRIVACY to destroy our census records and in doing so destroyed valuable historical evidence. For our social history and in search of our  ancestors we have to use census substitutes to fill in the gaps and the electoral rolls in both countries provide a vital role.

AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL ROLLS 1903 – 1954 online Ancestry.Com.Au

This database currently includes electoral rolls for the following states and years. Those marked by asterisk have been indexed. Others are image-only. Excludes South Australia.

The information provided includes: electorate name, surname, first names, address, occupation

Access is available at any major Australian & New Zealand library or via subscription.

• Australian Capital Territory: 1928*, 1929-31, 1935*, 1937*, 1943*, 1949*, 1954*
• New South Wales: 1930*, 1931-32, 1933*, 1934-35, 1936-37*, 1943*, 1949*, 1953-54*
• Northern Territory: 1922*, 1928, 1929*, 1930-31, 1934*, 1937*, 1943*, 1949*, 1954*
• Queensland: 1903*, 1905*, 1906, 1908-10, 1912, 1913*, 1914-17, 1919*, 1921*, 1922, 1925*, 1926, 1928-29, 1930*, 1931-32, 1934, 1936-37*, 1943*, 1949*, 1954*
• Tasmania: 1914*, 1915-17, 1919*, 1921, 1922*, 1925, 1928*, 1929-31, 1934, 1936-37*, 1943-44*, 1949*, 1954*
• Victoria: 1856*, 1903*, 1905-06, 1908, 1909*, 1910, 1912-13, 1914*, 1915-18, 1919*, 1920-22, 1924*, 1925-28, 1931*, 1932-35, 1936-37*, 1942-43*, 1949*, 1954*
• Western Australia: 1903*, 1905, 1906*, 1909, 1910-11*, 1912-15, 1916*, 1917-22, 1925*, 1926, 1928-30, 1931*, 1934, 1936-37*, 1943*, 1949*, 1954*

Australian Electoral History - Federal Government Elections

 

1901: Federation established

1902: All British subjects over 21 granted the  vote in Federal Elections

          Commonwealth Officials run the Elections

1903: First Federal Election 43% voter turnout

1908: Permanent Electoral Rolls established

1911: Compulsory Enrolment introduced

1924: Compulsory Voting introduced

1925: Federal Election 91.3% voter turnout

Women granted voting rights

1894: South Aus; 1899: Western Australia;

1902: NSW; 1903: TAS; 1905: QLD; 1908: VIC

NEW ZEALAND ELECTORAL ROLLS 1881, 1893, 1896 , 1911 & 1935

These databases are on CD Rom and can be searched via surname nationally.

The information provided includes: electorate names, surname, first names, address, occupation and in early rolls instead of  listing the occupation, a legal description of the land is provided.

Women are included in the roll from 1893

Bruce

Adoptions in NZ Birth Indexes & District Keys Books

Adoptions in the Original NZ Birth Indexes

These birth indexes were published on microfiche up to 1990 and copies are held in many major New Zealand and Australian Public Libraries. An adoption can be recognised because it is hand-written and there is a slash part way through the number. An adoption record is, in theory, off limits to all but the child and parents involved. Note not all hand-written entries relate to an adoption. The parents of an ex-nuptial child may have married with the result that the child is entered with a new surname. It may be that the original entry was incorrect and a second entry was required.

Post - 1960 births have the mother's Christian name except those involving an adoption.

District Keys Indexes for New Zealand Births & Deaths

A series of volumes have been produced for the years 1840 – 1955. These provide references to regions the folio numbers in the books cover plus the Districts the registrations were recorded. This  information helps narrow down a possible relative or  can confirm the area where the person you are seeking may come from and this can help identify regional records that can further assist your research.
Regions noted are:

Auckland Districts

Taranaki Districts

Wellington Districts

Hawkes Bay Districts

Marlborough Districts

Nelson Districts

Westland Districts

Canterbury Districts

Otago & Southland Districts

Bruce

Australian Biography Sources

Some great sources

Australian Dictionary of Biography Vol 1-12 C.D. Rom

Contains 7, 213 entries pub 1997 sourced from the original 12 volumes published plus cumulative indexes. The database may be searched by name, occupation, place of birth etc

  

Australian CD Rom School Project & Home Reference Library

Contains over 1000 biographies on famous Australians plus local histories & maps various Pub 1998 CD ROM

  

Australia’s Fighting Son’s of the Empire CD Rom 2007

Compilation of biographies and photographs (mainly WA) who fought in WW1 288pp Archive CD Books South Australia

  

Australian Pioneer & Reminiscences CD Rom

Originally published in 1896 covers Australian life 1849 – 1894 includes 150 portraits Pub 2007 by Archive Books South Australia

Who's Who in Australia 1906+

Who's Who in Australia 1997

Contains more than 10,500 biographical references to leading Australians whose details include: Full name of father & mother; Birth date and place; Date of marriage and to whom; Full name of father-in-law; Number of sons /daughters; Name of mother & mother-in-law including maiden names

Dictionary of Australian Biography

Percival SEARLE

Angus & Robertson 1949

http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/00-dict-biogIndex.html

Reproduction online, indexed, with photos can be downloaded and printed

Australian Dictionary of Biography Online Edition

 http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/adbonline.htm

Who is in ADB online

The online edition has 10,000 articles on 11, 237 persons (all deceased) some articles are on more than one person. All articles have been sourced from the published book volumes produced from 1966 – 2005

Volumes 1 – 2 Deal with the period 1788 – 1859

Volumes 3 – 6 Deal with the period 1851 – 1890

Volumes 7 – 12 Deal with the period 1891 – 1939

Volumes 13 – 16 Deal with the period 1940 – 1980

Note that many of the print publications can be found in many major libraries.

Bruce

Old School Friends & Old Workmates

Wondering where your old friends and work mates are these days? In New Zealand we have a great resource site called Old Friends where you will find your old school friends, old school class photographs and memories from your school days that at times can be quite amusing and enlightening. In addition there are many workplaces & clubs registered so you may even come across an old work mate that you used to work with or a member of a club that you used to belong to.

It’s free to join and you need to register to access the site so check out the web address http://www.oldfriends.co.nz.

Bruce

Adoption in New Zealand 1881 - 1985

Adoption

In 1881 the first Adoption Act was passed and provided for the legal adoption of a child under the age of 15 years. This was increased to 21 years in 1939. A magistrate made an adoption order for Europeans and by the judge in the Maori Land Court for Maori people. From 1881 - 1915, access to the original birth entry was not restricted and the entry remained the official source of information for issuing a birth certificate to an adoptee. In 1940 all pre 1916 adoption records were transferred to the Central Registry in Wellington

From 1915 changes to legislation provided for the re-registering of the adoptee's birth under their new adoptive name.

In 1924 further restrictions were placed on obtaining certified copies of the adoptees original birth certificate.

From 1955 no personal inspection of an original entry for an adopted person has been permitted.

The Adult Adoption Information Act 1985 allows a person who is adopted and who has reached 20 years of age access to their original birth record under Section 4 of the Act.

The original certificate will provide date and place of birth, sex and original names. In some instances the certificate will have details on both the birth parents.  If details of the birth parents are not recorded they may never have been registered in the first place or a veto has been placed by the birth parents. Sometimes the person placing the veto has left a letter of explanation, and request to the registrar should ask for this information plus any other non-identifying information that they may have.

Another source to check if you are unsure as to birth origins is police gazettes of mothers seeking maintenance from the alleged fathers of their illegitimate children - children both born and yet-to-be-born. Note for the years 1877 - 1925  there were a total of 1800 unmarried mothers with some 2000 babies involved, over 80% of who would have been born between the years 1900 - 1925.

The New Zealand Police Gazettes date from 1877, soon after central government took over policing. The volumes date from 1877 to 1990 when the gazette ceased publication. Access is allowed only to gazettes that are more than 100 years old. Each volume is indexed

Bruce