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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

ULTIMUS HAERES, n. comb. Also fem. ultima. Sc. Law: the last or ultimate heir, a title applied to the Crown when succeeding to the property of someone who has died intestate without any known heir. [′ʌltɪməs, -ɑ ′herəz]Sc. 1722 W. Forbes Institutes l. iii. 58:
Ultimus heres, is a Right by which the King succeeds as last Heir, or rather for want of an Heir, to any whose Stock of Kindred is spent.Sc. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 575:
When the Crown succeeds as ultimus haeres, whether to a bastard or to a person lawfully born, the Sovereign or the donatary must pay the debts of the deceased so far as the value of the estate goes, but no further.Sc. 1896 W. K. Morton Manual xx.:
Where no such propinquity can be established, the property falls to the Crown as ultima haeres, and is taken possession of by an official called the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer.Sc. 1959 Scotsman (3 July) 8:
Notice is Hereby Given That the estates (or part of the estates) of the undermentioned deceased persons have fallen to the Crown as Ultimus Haeres.