Mortuaries Act 1529
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| Act of Parliament | |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An Acte concerninge the takinge of Mortuaries or demaundinge receivinge or clayminge of the same.[b] |
|---|---|
| Citation | 21 Hen. 8. c. 6 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 17 December 1529 |
| Commencement | 1 April 1530[c] |
| Repealed | 1 March 1965 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Repealed by | Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Mortuaries Act 1529[a] (21 Hen. 8. c. 6), sometimes called the Statute of Mortuaries[1] was an act of the Parliament of England. It was one of the "anti-clerical" acts meant to reduce the power of the clergy, passed along with the Probate Act to limit the fees that the clerical courts could collect.[2][3]
Such fees had been the source of dispute, for example, in Hunne's Case. In connection with that case it was suggested the clergy had murdered a father who was accused of heresy after he lost a court case over unpaid mortuary fees for his deceased child.[4]
The act put limits on the amount of mortuary fees based on the amount of assets of the deceased, abolished fees for married women and children, and called for payment of fees for deceased travellers in the place of their usual habitation.[3]
