LEGAL INQUIRY COLUMN.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 127, 29 May 1907, Page 8

LEGAL INQUIRY COLUMN.

CONDUCTED BY A BAKSISTER-AX LAW.

Letters of inquiry will be answered every in which t h r "be dealt vrith "* the order y i.l re rece; *-ea. and repaes wlii in „ e /, ted ; vitb " tbe lea st possible delay, from th" to , de ** i -*« greatest advantage ArT f ?, column, correspcudents snould which "h P art 'Cii!ars of the facts npon detnn.= ey ~d e£lre advice. Whatever the oetaiis supplied, however, uo responsibllitj can be -iccepted for errors, in whatever «JJ arising, though every effort will be t«*L„ t'2 I . nsnre accuracy. Answers are eased absolutely on the icforniatiun sjlven, auu, therefore, in all instances, cau ouiv oe applied to the specific case dealt with. livery correspondent must enclose his oi uer real name and address, though, not. of ; course, for publication.

ILisfcES writes:—"l believe inforuittiou on te following matters would be very much appreciated by many of your readers, including the" above." (I) Is there a limited time after which, debts are not recoverable by-law? (2) In the case of a business* man (who would certainly have a banking account) refusing. In answer to numerous renderings of his account by post, to pay any attention to his debts, would it be advisable to draw on him through our bank for the amount, and what sire the details to be observed in drawing on him? Is any expense attached to the same? (3) How can we sue for debt without the aid of a legal adviser; is this possible?"

1(1) All actions for debt must be begun wltlim six years after the debts were contracted. That is the general principle. If. however, the debtor or his duly authorised agent acknowledge the debt*lu writing or promise to pay It, then the six years will begin afnsn froiji tne oaie of such acknowledgment or promise. i 2) Ulysses might find it answer very well to draw on his backward debtors. * He will need to get a book of blank bills of exchange and fill them up as directed. The only other ex'peuses will be the stamps ou the bills when drawn. This will be a penny on any hill of whatever amount payable on demand, aud a Ehllling for anr sum up to fifty pounds, payable at some future time. For hills exceeding £50 the duty is 1/ for each £50 or fraction of £50. (3) To sue for debt without a solicitor, Ulysses wfll need to get the necessary forms from the Clerk of th-> S.M. Court, fill them Tip. draw his statement of claim, file the whole, and pay the necessary fees. He will then have to attend at Court when his case is called on, and support it.}

DAIRY says:—"l have the lease of an estate at Panmure till the 18th of Ropy teinber. 1907. On the 30th of April ] last It was sold by auction, the terms ' being n third cash, balaucc in three years. The rent has been paid to the ISth of May. monthly la advance. The new owner comes along, says' Clear out by tho tßr.li of .Issue, ac.d you can go rent free." Now t previous owner hills mc for the rent up to the 31st of May. Must I pay it? "j [Dairy had better send mc his lease for perusal. He certainly Is not.bound to both landlords. If the new purchasehad not power to give film the place rent free from May ISth. Dairy is not bound by his promise to go out on tho ISth of .lune. Whether or not the previous owner has a right to the rent to 31st May lt would not be possible for mc to say on the information given. His right 'to the rent exists until the day the sale was, or lc to be, completed. Can Dairy find out that date from the purchaser?]

E.S.H. asks: "Re property in Chancery: rf legatee's natural i-arthlv time limit has expired. hat there is no actual proof nt death, can heirs claim ship?[Auvive given on information as vagna as E.s.H.'s would not be worth the lnii it was written with. L.S.H. should read the heading to this column.]

GRATEFUL.—I shall need muck more information than you give. Am sending a note of what Is required.

ABECEDARY: "Will you kindly enlighten mc on tho following:—l employ a man named Brown: Brown sees another man, .Smith, who is In uo way couTiected with inc. iv liifflcuitles; Brown goes to his assistance without my authority, and in so doing a tressel belonging to mc breaks and precipitates Brown to the ground and breaks bus libs Brown did not assist Smith, but admits he was going to his assistance without my authority. Has Brown got any claim for compensation in regard to the accident .against either myself or Smith? Supposing under the same circumstances Brown had met with an accident whilst in the act of assisting Smith, who had not requested my assistsince, would either myself or Smith bo liable for compensation? Admitted Brown had no authority from nils." [This correspondent aiso will have to give mc more information. The reference to the tressel is too vague entirely. Was Brown walking on it? Was it put up for Brown to walk on? Had Brown's work anything to do with it? I shall need to know where Brown was, what work ho was engaged In , where Smith was, what hte danger was, and generally as much detail as Abecedary can supply.]

VERITAS asks: "A ten years ago makes a will. Since then one witness has died, but the other still lives. Does the fact that one witness has died invalidate the will?" [No. The death of tho witness does not affect the validity of the will.]

ANNOTED writes: "My neighbour has land lying idle or wor?se. growing gorse and noxious; .weeds, which has spread to my ground (ploughed and sown down), and covers a strip some oft or 6ft wide, while ihe seed has spread over 100 ft. I've drawn the attention of my neighbour twice, without a«y notice being taken What is my position?"

l Annoyed should write to the noxious weeds Inspector, and ask him io compel the neighbour to destroy tbe weeds, if Annoyed wishes* he may also sue his neighbour foe any damage he can prove he has suffered through the spread of the weeds from th? nrsishbonr'fs land.]

S.J.S. writes": "If a man dies without tuatiuj; a will, and he has a wife and no family, docs his wife get all his property? Lf not. what share does she get, and "who does the rrst so toY- If a woman dies under the same circumstances, does the law act the same?''

[If the husband nas mi children and no father, mother, brothers, or sisters, the ■Tcit'e sot.s all. if h'j Jia_s no chiiareu. but leaves a wife and a father, the wife receives two-thirds and the father one-third, if he has neitner children nor father, but leaves a mother, the mother takes the third. 1£ he has no children, father, nor morner, but brothers and sisters, the brothers and sisters take the third. But whatever other relatives there may be, the wife gets the whole of the first £500, and her two-thirds share of the balance. A woman's property Is distributed after the same fashion.]

DESERTED ONE writes: "I have just returned from a visit fr> the Old Country, and l find on my return that my husband has sold up the home and gone away—possibly lo the Islands or to Australia, perhaps to America, if found, can I compel him to find mc another home or to allow mc a separate maintenance? My family are all grown op, and gone away from, borne, and are all doins; well, aud 1 should prefer living with them than with my husband. 1 may state that hit trip Home to see my friends cost h'm nothing;. He even refused to assist mc in any way, and even threatened to do what he actually has done if I persisted in going, fan yon please tell mc what legal steps 1 can take, and how to act about it?" [Deserted One's position is an unfortunate one. She can certainly sue her husband for maintenance, and will no doubt get a good judgment against him; bat if he has left no property on which it can be leried—and Deserted One mentions none— the judgment will be of little usse. Has Deserted One any meaus of her own? if not, she could, of course, get an allowance from her children.]

GKET LTNN writes: "About two months ago there was a n&w 6ft fence erected between E.E. and H.lIcD. Can H. McD. put ovejr the said fence weather boards 9ft to 10ft in height, so as to take the sun and light from any back door and other buildings ?' 11 am afraid Grer Lynn has no remedy, ir the erectiw is os hie ueJstoour'is property.