DEATHS ON WAR SERVICE

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 263, 2 August 1941, Page 11

DEATHS ON WAR SERVICE

Probate And Administration

Of Estates NEW REGULATIONS Problems as to probate and estate administration arising out of deaths on war service are referred to in the current issue of the “New Zealand Law Journal.” It is stated that up to the present time there has been nothing to assist applicants for probate or letters of administration arising out of the will or intestacy of any person who has died outside the Dominion during the course of hostilities and whose death cannot be proved in the ordinary way. ... This is stated to be particularly true of members of the armed forces who have been reported “missing, believed killed.” The article says -hat the position has been met to a limited extent by the recent gazetting of the Registration of Deaths Emergency Regulations, 1941, which came into effect on J uly 17. Provision is made in the regulations for the compiling by the Regis-trar-General of a War Deaths Register containing, as far as practicable, particulars of persons who are proved to his satisfaction to have died while out of New Zealand on service in some capacity with the war, and who were at the time of their deaths domiciled in New Zealand. In the case of members of the New Zealand Naval Forces deaths have to be registered with the registrar of births and deaths at Wellington. For proof of such death the registrar may accept a certificate from an officer of the New Zealand Forces, or any other duly authorized person. Registrar’s Authority.

For the purposes of the'War Deaths Registrar it is provided that the Reg-istrar-General may accept in proof of death of any person the fact that the Supreme Court has granted probate or administration or has granted leave to swear to the death, or may accept a certificate signed by an officer of the forces or any other person authorized by the Minister of Defence, or may accept such other proof of death as he deems, sufficient.

A feature introduced by the regulations is that every certified copy of any entry in the Provisional War Deaths Register and every certificate in the schedule shall, if it purports to be signed by the Registrar-General, be received in any Court as prima facie evidence of the fact that the person to whom the entry relates is missing and believed to have been killed. The Provisional War Deaths Register is one which contains the names of those who are officially reported to be missing and believed killed but whose deaths have not been proved to the Registrar-Gen-eral’s satisfaction. The article states that from the regulations it would appear that when the Registrar-General is not sufficiently satisfied of proof of death to justify an entry in the War Deaths Register he may accept such evidence as he , thinks fit to make an entry in the provisional register. It would seem that the Court would not accept a certificate of entry in either register as being in itself sufficient evidence in proof of death.