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BANKRUPTCY AMENDMENT ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1929 - SECT 21

Administration in bankruptcy of estate of person dying insolvent.

21.(1)[Rules of Court may provide] for the administration according to the law
of bankruptcy of the estates of persons dying insolvent, in any case where
the court thinks fit so to order upon a petition being presented to the court

(a)by a creditor of a deceased debtor whose debt would have been sufficient to
support a bankruptcy petition against the debtor had he been alive, or

(b)by the legal personal representative of such deceased debtor

(2) Where a petition for administration under this section has been presented
to the court, the court may, in the prescribed manner, unless satisfied that
there is reasonable probability that the estate will be sufficient for the
payment of the debts owing by the deceased, make an order for the
administration in bankruptcy of the deceased debtor's estate, or may, upon
cause shown, dismiss the petition with or without costs. Where the petition is
presented by a creditor the prescribed notice shall be given to the legal
personal representative of the deceased debtor and the petitioner's debt shall
be proved to the court, before an order is made.

(3) A petition for administration under this section shall not be presented to
the court after proceedings have been commenced in any court of justice for
the administration of the deceased debtor's estate, but that court may, when
satisfied that the estate is insufficient to pay its debts, transfer the
proceedings to the court exercising jurisdiction in bankruptcy, and thereupon
the last-mentioned court may, in the prescribed manner, make an order for the
administration of the estate of the deceased debtor, and the like consequences
shall ensue as under an administration order made on a petition under this
section.

(4) Upon an order being made for the administration of a deceased debtor's
estate, the property of the debtor shall vest in the official assignee..., and
he shall forthwith proceed to realise and distribute that property in
accordance with the provisions of [the Acts of 1857, 1872, and 1889, and
this Act]:

Provided that the creditors shall have the same powers as to appoinment of a
trustee and committee of inspection as they have in other cases where the
estate of a debtor is being administered or dealt with in bankruptcy, and the
provisions of the Act of 1872 [and the Bankruptcy Amendment (Northern Ireland)
Order 1980] relating to trustees and committees of inspection shall apply to
trustees and committees of inspection appointed under the powers so conferred.

(5) With the modifications hereinafter mentioned, all the provisions of [the
Acts of 1857, 1872, and 1889, and this Act] relating to proof of debts,
property available for payment of debts, effect of bankruptcy on antecedent
and other transactions, realisation of property, and distribution of property
[(except Article 26 of the Bankruptcy Amendment (Northern Ireland) Order
1980)], and sections three hundred and seven to three hundred and eleven
inclusive, of the Act of 1857 (which relate to enquiries as to a debtor's
conduct, dealings, and property) shall, so far as the same are applicable,
apply to the case of an administration order under this section in like manner
as to an order of adjudication of bankruptcy...

[(6) In the administration of the property of the deceased debtor under an
order of administration, the official assigneee or trustee shall have regard
to any claim by the legal personal representative of the deceased debtor to
payment of the proper funeral and testamentary expenses incurred by him in and
about the debtor's estate, and such claim shall be deemed a preferential debt
under the order, and shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the
provisions of any Act relating to the priority of other debts, be payable in
full, out of the debtor's estate, in priority to all other debts.]

[(7) If, on the administration of a deceased debtor's estate, any surplus
remains in the hands of the official assignee or trustee, after payment in
full of all the debts due from the debtor, together with the costs of the
administration and interest as provided by the Acts of 1857 and 1872 in case
of bankruptcy, such surplus shall be paid over to the legal personal
representative of the deceased debtor's estate, or dealt with in such other
manner as may be prescribed.]

(8) Notice to the legal personal representative of a deceased debtor of the
presentation by a creditor of a petition under this section shall, in the
event of an order for administration being made thereon, be deemed to be
equivalent to notice of an act of bankruptcy, and after such notice no payment
or transfer of property made by the legal personal representative shall
operate as a discharge to him as between himself and the official assignee or
trustee; save as aforesaid nothing in this section shall invalidate any
payment made or any act or thing done in good faith by the legal personal
representative before the date of the order for administration.

(9) Where a petition for the administration of the estate of a deceased debtor
under this section is presented by the legal personal representative of the
debtor, the provisions of this section shall be subject to such modifications
as may be prescribed.

(10) In this section..., "creditor" means one or more creditors qualified to
present a bankruptcy petition, and "trustee" means a trustee appointed by the
creditors of the deceased debtor under the provisions of sub-section (4) of
this section.

© 1929 Crown Copyright

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