129.—(1) There shall be district probate registries for such districts and at such places as the Minister may by order appoint.

(2) The Minister may by order—

(a) alter the district served by a district probate registry;

(b) add to or reduce the number of such districts;

(c) direct that any district probate registry may be at such place within the district as he thinks fit;

(d) close any district probate registry.

(3) Whenever the Minister makes an order closing a district probate registry, the Minister may by that order make provision for enabling applications for representation, in cases in which the deceased, at the time of his death, had a fixed place of abode within the district previously served by that registry, to be lodged with the county registrar for the area in which that place of abode was situate and for the transmission of the applications by the county registrar to the Probate Office and the transmission of the grants (if and when issued) from the Probate Office to the said county registrar for delivery to the person entitled thereto.

(4) Until provision is otherwise made under this section, the district probate registries existing at the commencement of this Act shall continue to function for the districts and at the places theretofore appointed by law.