| 释义 |
commorientes
pl. n. [Latin] Persons who die at the same time or when the order of death is uncertain. Under the Law of Property Act 1925 s 184, commorientes are presumed (so far as the devolution of their property is concerned) to have died in order of seniority. Thus a bequest by the younger to the elder is treated as having lapsed. However, this rule may be displaced by a contrary intention expressed in a will by use of a survivorship clause. The rule does not apply on an intestacy where the intestate and intestate’s spouse or civil partner die at the same time or where the order of death is unknown (Administration of Estates Act 1925 s 46 (3)). Note also that under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 s 46(2A) (as amended by the Law Reform (Succession) Act 1995), where an intestate dies after 1 January 1996 a surviving spouse or civil partner will only take on the intestacy if she or he survives the intestate by 28 days. The commorientes rule does not apply for inheritance tax purposes—the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 s 4(2) provides that where the order of deaths is uncertain it is assumed neither person survived the other. |