Legitimacy act, 1931

• Enactment Date: 19 May 1931
• Act Number: 13

Number 13 of 1931.
LEGITIMACY ACT, 1931.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section 1. Legitimation by subsequent marriage of parents. 2. Declarations of legitimacy of legitimated persons. 3. Rights of legitimated persons, etc., to take interest in property. 4. Succession on intestacy of legitimated persons and their issue. 5. Application to illegitimate persons dying before marriage of parents. 6. Personal rights and obligations of legitimated persons. 7. Death duties. 8. Provisions as to persons legitimated by extraneous law. 9. Right of illegitimate child and mother of illegitimate child to succeed on intestacy of the other. 10. Saving. 11. Interpretation. 12. Short title.
SCHEDULE.
Registration of Births of Legitimated Persons
Act Referred to Courts of Justice Act, 1924 No. 10 of 1924
Number 13 of 1931.
LEGITIMACY ACT, 1931.
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW RELATING TO CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. [19th May, 1931.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—
	Legitimation by subsequent marriage of parents.	1.—(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 Saorstát Eireann, render that person, if living, legitimate from the commencement of this Act, or from the date of the marriage, whichever is the later.
	(2) Nothing in this Act shall operate to legitimate a person unless the father and mother of such person could have been lawfully married to one another at the time of birth of such person or at some time during the period of ten months preceding such birth.
	(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 birth of legitimated persons.
	Declarations of legitimacy of legitimated persons.	2.—(1) A person claiming that he is or that any of his parents or remoter ancestors is or was a legitimated person may, whether he is or is not domiciled in Saorstát Eireann and whether he is or is not a natural-born British subject within the meaning of the Legitimacy Declaration Act (Ireland), 1868 , institute proceedings under that Act, and that Act shall apply accordingly.
	(2) The Circuit Court shall have and may exercise jurisdiction in proceedings instituted by virtue of this section under the Legitimacy Declaration Act (Ireland), 1868 , and section 25 and the provisoes to section 48 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 (No. 10 of 1924), shall apply in respect of all such proceedings.
	(3) The jurisdiction conferred by this section on the Circuit Court shall be exercised by the Judge of that Court for the time being assigned to the Circuit in which the person instituting the proceedings is residing or, where such person does not reside in Saorstát Eireann, to the Circuit which includes the City of Dublin.
	Rights of legitimated persons, etc., to take interest in property.	3.—(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 estate in tail 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 or title of honour, 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.
	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...