Preface

• Author: Karen Nunez-Tesheira
• Pages: 9-9

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Preface

It has been five years since the publication of the first edition of Non-

Contentious Probate Practice and Procedure in the English-Speaking Caribbean.

Since that date, several radical and fundamental changes have been made

to the probate procedural and/or substantive probate laws of three of the

territories considered in the text.

In the case of Jamaica, commencing January 1, 2003, new probate

rules were passed, replacing rules which date back to the nineteenth century.

The Bahamas has also experienced nothing short of a revolution with

regards — to its substantive probate laws — laws which in some instances

were over four centuries old. Since 2000, the real and personal estate of an

intestate has been assimilated for inheritance purposes, and the child born

out of wedlock to an intestate father now has the same rights of inheritance

as a child born out of wedlock.

In the case of Trinidad & Tobago, the classes of persons entitled to

apply for family provisions have been expanded by the passage of Part VIII

of the Succession Act, 1981 as amended by the Distribution of Estates Act

28/2000, to include inter alia, a child of the family and a co-habitant. The

Administration of Estates Ordinance Ch. 8 No. 1 has also been amended

so as to include new categories of beneficiaries, most, notable of which is

the co-habitant.

Clearly the last five years has witnessed a number of far-reaching changes

made to the succession law, both substantive and procedural, of the above-

mentioned countries.

These changes in fact prompted, if not necessitated, the writing of a

second edition, but they also provided an opportunity to rewrite the text

and expand on areas when it was felt there was a further need for development

and more in-depth treatment. In this regard, it is hoped that the second

edition will prove to be of assistance, not only to students of the law, but

more particularly to probate practictioners in the English-speaking

Caribbean.