§ Lady TweedsmuirI beg to move, in page 4, line 14, to leave out subsection (2) and to insert:
(2) The right of any issue entitled to share in an intestate estate by virtue of the foregoing subsection to be appointed to the office of executor on the intestate estate shall be postponed to the right thereto of any person who succeeds to the whole or part of the intestate estate by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this Act apart from this section and who applies for appointment to that office.This subsection is intended to make it clear that the person who shares in an intestate estate as representing a predeceasing relative of the intestate is not entitled to claim the office of executor in preference to a nearer relative of the deceased. addition it relieves doubt which at present exists as to whether, for example, at any time an intestate who shares in the estate as representing his father has the right to the office of executor before the deceased's father who has equal right with a brother under Clause 2(1,b) to share the intestate estate.The hon. Member for Glasgow, Craigton (Mr. Millan) criticised the drafting of the original subsection in 1263 Committee and my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General for Scotland undertook to re-examine it. This is the result and I hope that it commends itself to the House.
§ Mr. MillanI am glad to welcome this Amendment, because, as the noble Lady said, I raised this matter in Committee. I thought that the drafting of the present subsection (2) was ambiguous. I am not sure that this new drafting is a model of lucidity, but it is very difficult to express this provision in plain English. Having looked at it from the layman's point of view, I must say that it is much clearer than as originally drafted and that the Amendment makes a good deal of improvement.
§ Amendment agreed to.