Legitimacy Act 1926
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1926 c. 60 |
| Year | 1926 |
Legitimacy Act, 1926
(16 & 17 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 60.
An Act to amend the law relating to children born out of wedlock.
[15th December 1926]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Legitimation by subsequent marriage of parents.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, where the parents of an illegitimate person marry or have married one another, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, the marriage shall, if the father of the illegitimate person was or is at the date of the marriage domiciled in England or Wales, render that person, if living, legitimate from the commencement of this Act, or from the date of the marriage, whichever last happens.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall operate to legitimate a person whose father or mother was married to a third person when the illegitimate person was born.
(3) The legitimation of a person under this Act does not enable him or his spouse, children or remoter issue to take any interest in real or personal property save as is hereinafter in this Act expressly provided.
(4) The provisions contained in the Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the re-registration of the births of legitimated persons.
2 Declarations of legitimacy of legitimated persons.
(1) A person claiming that he or his parent or any remoter ancestor became or has become a legitimated person may, whether domiciled in England or elsewhere and whether a natural-born British subject or not, present a petition under the Legitimacy Declaration Act, 1858 , and that Act, subject to such necessary modifications as may be prescribed by rules of court, shall apply accordingly.
(2) A petition under the said Act may be presented by any such person as aforesaid to the county court instead of to the High Court, and the county court on such a petition being presented shall have all such jurisdiction as by the said Act is conferred upon the High Court:
Provided that, where a petition is presented to the county court, the county court, if it considers that the case is one which owing to the value of the property involved or otherwise ought to be dealt with by the High Court, may, and if so ordered by the High Court shall, transfer the matter to the High Court, and on such transfer the proceeding shall be continued in the High Court as if it had been originally commenced therein.
3 Rights of legitimated persons, &c., to take interests in property.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a legitimated person and his spouse, children or more remote issue shall be entitled to take any interest—
(a ) in the estate of an intestate dying after the date of legitimation;
(b ) under any disposition coming into operation after the date of legitimation;
(c ) by descent under an entailed interest created after the date of legitimation;
in like manner as if the legitimated person had been born legitimate.
(2) Where the right to any property, real or personal, depends on the relative seniority of the children of any person, and those children include one or more legitimated persons, the legitimated person or persons shall rank as if he or they had been born on the day when he or they became legitimated by virtue of this Act, and if more than one such legitimated person became legitimated at the same time, they shall rank as between themselves in order of seniority.
(3) Where property real or personal or any interest therein is limited in such a way that, if this Act had not been passed, it would (subject or not to any preceding limitations or charges) have devolved (as nearly as the law permits) along with a dignity or title of honour, then nothing in this Act shall operate to sever the property or any interest therein from such dignity, but the same shall go and devolve (without prejudice to the preceding limitations or charges aforesaid) in like manner as if this Act had not been passed. This subsection applies, whether or not there is ally express reference to the dignity or title of honour and notwithstanding that in some events the property, or some interest therein, may become severed therefrom.
(4) This section applies only if and so far as a contrary intention is not expressed in the disposition, and shall have effect subject to the terms of the disposition and to the provisions therein contained.
4 Succession on intestacy of legitimated persons and their issue.
4. Where a legitimated person or a child or remoter issue of a legitimated person dies intestate in respect of all or any of his real or personal property, the same persons shall be entitled to take the same interests therein as they would have been entitled to take if the legitimated person had been born legitimate.
5 Application to illegitimate person dying before marriage of parents.
5. Where an illegitimate person dies after the commencement of this Act and before the marriage of his parents leaving any spouse, children or remoter issue living at the date of such marriage, then, if that person would, if living at the time of the marriage of his parents, have become a legitimated person, the provisions of this Act with respect to the taking of interests in property by, or in succession to, the spouse, children and remoter issue of a legitimated person (including those relating to the rate of death duties) shall apply as if such person as aforesaid had been a legitimated person and the date of the marriage of his parents had been the date of legitimation.
6 Personal rights and obligations of legitimated persons.
(1) A legitimated person shall have the same rights and shall be under the same obligations in respect of the maintenance and support of himself or of any other person as if he had been born legitimate, and, subject to the provisions of this Act, the provisions of any Act relating to claims for damages, compensation, allowance, benefit, or otherwise by or in respect of a legitimate child shall apply in like manner in the case of a legitimated person.
(2) Where the marriage leading...
To continue reading
Request your trial