VPRS 4572 Insolvency Court, Insolvency Estates Account Book

This volume records the receipts and payments as these were made for insolvent estates under the supervision of the Court. According to the 1915 Instructions To Clerks Of Courts, this record is in the form of a standard cash book. Another volume, confusingly known as the Estates Cash Book, forms the ledger for these accounts and groups together all debits and credits made for each account. This series was part of the mandatory accounting procedures for bankrupt estates established under Sections 54 to 63 of the Insolvency Act 1897. The Act mandated the keeping, form and operation of this account by the Chief Clerk. Assignees and trustees of estates were to pay into designated bank accounts each week all moneys received as assignee or trustee, furnishing the Chief Clerk with the details of this transaction. When necessary for carrying on the insolvents business or meeting any claims on the estate, money could be paid out of the account as authorised by the court or by a police magistrate. Any unclaimed moneys or any surplus funds in the account for an estate was to be paid to the Treasury for investment.