Legitimacy Act (Northern Ireland) 1928

3 Rights of legitimated persons, etc., to take interests in property. N.I.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a legitimated person and his spouse [F1 or civil partner] , children or remoter issue shall be entitled to take any interest—

(a) in the estate of an intestate dying after the date of legitimation;

(b) F2 under any disposition coming into operation after the date of legitimation;

(c) by descent under a disposition whereby an estate tail has been created after the date of legitimation;

in like manner as if the legitimated person had been born legitimate.

(2) F2 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 sub-section applies, whether or not there is any 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.

F1 Words in s. 3(1) inserted (13.1.2020) by The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1514), regs. 1(2), 23(4) (with regs. 6-9)

F2 1977 NI 17