Where several heirs of the same rank stand on a compensation claim, who is entitled to withdraw it, and on whose agreement?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In the practice file, we read the succession papers establishing that the heirs stand in the same rank, the compensation application showing who lodged the claim, and any paper recording the agreement of the other heirs of that rank to the withdrawal.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading follows the provision literally: where several heirs of the same rank exist, the person who claimed compensation may not withdraw the claim unless all the others consent, so a single objecting heir of that rank blocks the withdrawal.
Another reading notes that the provision speaks only of heirs of the same rank, and so leaves open how a withdrawal stands where the remaining heirs hold a different rank, or how the consent of the others is to be shown in the file.
Your judgment
When consent is recorded only by some of the equal-rank heirs, how could the file show whether a valid withdrawal took place?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change whose consent a withdrawing claimant must have, or if a court decision explains how the consent of equal-rank heirs must be evidenced or how it applies to heirs of a different rank.