Part 1Preliminary

Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title This Act may be cited as the Succession Act 2023. 2—Commencement (1) This Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation. (2) Section 27(6) of the Legislation Interpretation Act 2021 does not apply to this Act. 3—Interpretation (1) In this Act— administration means letters of administration of the estate of deceased persons, whether with or without the will annexed, and whether granted for general, special or limited purposes; adult means a person of or above the age of 18 years; annulment of a person's marriage means— (a) the annulment of the marriage by the Family Court of Australia; or (b) the annulment of the marriage under a law of a place outside Australia, if the annulment is recognised in Australia under the Family Law Act; Australian jurisdiction means a State or Territory of the Commonwealth; Australian legal practitioner means a local legal practitioner or an interstate legal practitioner; child, in relation to a deceased person, includes a person who is recognised as a child of the deceased person by virtue of the Family Relationships Act 1975; Convention means the Convention providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will 1973 signed in Washington D.C. on 26 October 1973; Court means the Supreme Court of South Australia; deemed grant of probate or administration means a grant of probate or administration taken to have been granted by virtue of the operation of section 73(4); disposition includes— (a) a devise, bequest, legacy or other gift of property under a will; and (b) the creation by will of a power of appointment affecting property; and (c) the exercise by will of a power of appointment affecting property; divorce of a person means the termination of the person's marriage by— (a) a divorce order in relation to the marriage taking effect under the Family Law Act; or (b) the dissolution of the marriage in accordance with the law of a place outside Australia, if the dissolution is recognised in Australia under the Family Law Act; domestic partner— (a) in relation to a living person means a person who is a domestic partner within the meaning of the Family Relationships Act 1975, whether declared as such under that Act or not; (b) in relation to a deceased person means— (i) a person declared under the Family Relationships Act 1975 to have been the domestic partner of the deceased person as at the date of the deceased person's death; or (ii) a person who was in a registered relationship with the deceased person as at the date of the deceased person's death; estate comprises real and personal property and includes any money or other property subject to a trust and received by the Public Trustee under order of the Court; Family Law Act means the Family Law Act 1975 of the Commonwealth; foreign grant, of probate or administration, means a grant of probate or administration issued by a court of competent jurisdiction outside Australia; foreign will means a will made outside Australia; international will means a will made in accordance with the requirements of the Annex to the Convention set out in Schedule 1; interstate grant, of probate or administration, means a grant of probate or administration issued by a court of competent jurisdiction in another State or a Territory of the Commonwealth; interstate legal practitioner has the same meaning as in the Legal Practitioners Act 1981; intestate means a person who— (a) dies without leaving a will; or (b) dies leaving a will that does not effectively dispose of either the whole or part of the person's estate; intestate estate in relation to an intestate means— (a) in the case of an intestate who leaves a will—that part of the person's estate that is not effectively disposed of by the will; or (b) in any other case—the whole of the person's estate; Judge means a Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia; local legal practitioner has the same meaning as in the Legal Practitioners Act 1981; minor means a person under the age of 18 years; oath includes an affirmation; parent, in relation to a deceased person, includes a person who is recognised as a parent of the deceased person by virtue of the Family Relationships Act 1975; probate means probate of the will of a deceased person; property means real property or personal property; Public Trustee has the same meaning as in the Public Trustee Act 1995; real property means an estate or interest in land; registered relationship means a relationship that is registered under the Relationships Register Act 2016, and includes a corresponding law registered relationship under that Act; Registrar means the Registrar of Probates or an acting or deputy Registrar of Probates; rules of court or rules means the rules of court made under this Act; spouse— (a) a person is the spouse of a living person if the persons are legally married to each other; (b) a person is the spouse of a deceased person if the person was legally married to the deceased person as at the date of the deceased person's death; testamentary jurisdiction of the Court means the jurisdiction of the Court set out in section 18 of the Supreme Court Act 1935; trustee company has the same meaning as in the Trustee Companies Act 1988; undevised land means land forming part of a deceased estate that has not been disposed of by will (whether the deceased died wholly or partially intestate); will includes a codicil and any other testamentary disposition. (2) For the purposes of this Act— (a) a person's marriage is ended when— (i) the annulment of the person's marriage takes effect; or (ii) the person's divorce takes effect; (b) a person's registered relationship is ended when it is taken to end under the Relationships Register Act 2016. (3) For the purposes of this Act— (a) a person is a former domestic partner of a deceased person if the person was the domestic partner of the deceased person at some time other than immediately before the deceased person's death; (b) a person is a former spouse of a deceased person if the person's marriage with the deceased person had ended at some time other than immediately before the deceased person's death. Part 2—Wills Division 1—Making, alteration, revocation and revival of wills Subdivision 1—Property that may be disposed of by will 4—All property may be disposed of by will A person may dispose by will of any property that the person is seized of, or is entitled to, at law or in equity at the time of the person's death (whether or not the entitlement existed at the date of the making of the will).