39. Where, in the event of the death of a depositor, any payment under these Regulations is made in accordance with the law of the place in which the depositor resided at the date of his death, that payment shall, unless notice in writing to the effect that the depositor was at that date domiciled elsewhere was received by the Director of Savings before the payment was made, be deemed for the purposes of these Regulations to have been duly made.
40.—(1) Where the total amount due to a depositor at the time of his death does not exceed £500, and probate of his will or letters of administration to his estate is not or are not produced to the Director of Savings within such time as he thinks reasonable in the circumstances of the case, the Director of Savings, if he thinks fit, may, without requiring probate or letters of administration, pay the amount so due or any part of that amount—
(a)to a person appearing to the Director of Savings to be entitled to take out probate of the will of the deceased or letters of administration to his estate;
(b)where the deceased has left a will (being a will with respect to which the Director of Savings is satisfied that probate or letters of administration with the will annexed would be granted), to any person to whom the amount so due or any part thereof would, in the opinion of the Director of Savings, be payable under such will, if probate thereof or letters of administration with the will annexed were granted;
(c)to any person who satisfies the Director of Savings that he is entitled to receive the amount due or any part thereof in right of his being—
(i)a person who has paid the funeral expenses of the deceased; or
(ii)a creditor of the deceased; or
(iii)a person who has a beneficial interest in the estate of the deceased;
(d)if the deceased was a British subject and his next of kin appears to the Director of Savings to reside outside the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, to any officer or authority who, in the opinion of the Director of Savings, may properly be entrusted with the duty of distributing the amount due;
(e)if the deceased was a seaman of a foreign country, being a country with which a treaty has been made in respect of the payment of moneys due to seamen, to the consular authority of that country;
(f)if the deceased was a foreign subject, not being a seaman to whom the provisions of sub-paragraph (e) above apply, to the consular authority of the country to which the deceased belonged, or to such other authority as appears to the Director of Savings to be appropriate, subject in either case to the Director of Savings being satisfied that the deposits will be duly distributed;
(g)in a case where the estate of the deceased appears to the Director of Savings to have devolved upon the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duchy of Cornwall, to the Treasury Solicitor, the Solicitor for the affairs of the Duchy of Lancaster, or the Solicitor for the affairs of the Duchy of Cornwall, as the case requires:
(2) Notwithstanding any rule of law to the contrary, any person to whom a payment may be made under paragraph (1)(b) or (c) above or under the proviso to paragraph (1) above may sign a receipt therefor if he has attained the age of sixteen years, and the receipt shall be a valid receipt without the signature of any other person, and where any person to whom a payment may be so made is unable by reason of his age or for any other reason whatsoever to give a discharge therefor under these Regulations the Director of Savings may make the payment to any person who satisfies him that he will apply it for the maintenance or otherwise for the benefit of the first mentioned person.
(3) Subject to paragraph (2) above, the Director of Savings, in making any payment under paragraph (1)(b) or (1)(c)(iii) above or under the proviso to paragraph (1) above, shall, unless he is of opinion that hardship or inconvenience would be thereby caused, have regard to the rules of law relating to the distribution of the estates of deceased persons, but if he is of that opinion, may depart from those rules in such manner and to such extent as he considers just.
(4) In this Regulation the expression “will”
(5) Nothing in this Regulation shall affect the operation of any nomination duly made under these Regulations.
41.—(1) Where on the death of a depositor the aggregate value of the specified assets (hereinafter defined) exceeds £3,000, the Director of Savings shall, before making any payment or transfer of any of the deposits in the National Savings Bank standing to the credit of such depositor either alone or jointly with any other depositor (not being deposits in respect of which it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director of Savings that the deceased depositor had no interest therein otherwise than as a trustee), require the production of a statement from the Commissioners of Inland Revenue to the effect either that no death duties are payable in respect of the deposits or that any death duties so payable have been paid:
(a)where the payment or transfer is made to or as directed by the deceased depositor's legal personal representative, or the Public Trustee, or the Official Receiver, or the trustee in bankruptcy of the estate of the deceased depositor; or
(b)where the deceased depositor was at the time of his death domiciled in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands.
(2) In this Regulation the expression “the specified assets” means
(a)the total amount (including interest) which, at the date of the death of the depositor, stands to the credit of all accounts in his name alone, or in his name jointly with any other person, in the National Savings Bank;
(b)the total amount which would have been payable (if repayment had been demanded) at the date of the death of the depositor in respect of all savings certificates recorded in his name alone, or in his name jointly with any other person;
(c)all stock and securities registered in the National Savings Stock Register in the sole name of the depositor, or in his name and the name of any other person as joint holders (not being stock or securities recorded in the parts of the National Savings Stock Register kept by trustee savings banks);
(d)any amount repayable and any other sum payable in respect of all premium savings bonds recorded in the depositor's name;
(e)the total amount (including any bonus or interest) which would have been repayable (if repayment had been demanded) at the date of the death of the depositor in respect of all savings contracts entered into by him and registered by the Director of Savings under a contractual savings scheme certified by the Treasury in accordance with section 415(2) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970.
(3) For the purposes of this Regulation, the value of the stock and securities referred to in paragraph (2)(c) above shall be—
(a)in the case of National Development Bonds, British Savings Bonds and any other securities which can be held only on the National Savings Stock Register, the nominal capital amount thereof; and
(b)in all other cases, the market value thereof at the date of the death of the depositor.