EXTENSION OF TIME
If a person is a minor or of unsound mind, Chapter III of the Statute of Limitations 1957 provides if such person is under a disability when the cause of action accrues, the action may be brought at any time before the expiration of six year from the date of the ceasing of the disability. Section 127 of the Succession Act 1965 provides:
Section 49 of the Statute of Limitations, 1957, which extends the periods of limitation fixed by that Act where the person to whom a right of action accrued was under a disability, shall have effect in relation to an action in respect of a claim to the estate of a deceased person or to any share in such estate, whether under a will, on intestacy or as a legal right, as if the period of three years were substituted for the period of six years mentioned in subsection (1) of that section.
So, in such instances of disability, the time period does not begin to run until the disability ends or that person dies. It is important to note that if even that person’s successor is also under a disability, time continues to run. The time period that applies in relation to this section is three years from the ending of the disability or six years from the accrual of the action, which is longer. As mentioned above, section 127 does not apply to claim brought under section 117 of the Succession Act 1965.
The limitation period for causes of action which are covered by the Statute of Limitations 1957, may also be extended on the basis of fraud, concealment, acknowledgement or part payment.
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