(1)The time at which a person first becomes capable of having an independent domicile shall be when he attains the age of sixteen or marries under that age; and in the case of a person who immediately before 1st January 1974 was incapable of having an independent domicile, but had then attained the age of sixteen or been married, it shall be that date.
(2)This section extends to England and Wales and Northern Ireland (but not to Scotland).
(1)Subsection (2) of this section shall have effect with respect to the dependent domicile of a child as at any time after the coming into force of this section when his father and mother are alive but living apart.
(2)The child's domicile as at that time shall be that of his mother if—
(a)he then has his home with her and has no home with his father; or
(b)he has at any time had her domicile by virtue of paragraph (a) above and has not since had a home with his father.
(3)As at any time after the coming into force of this section, the domicile of a child whose mother is dead shall be that which she last had before she died if at her death he had her domicile by virtue of subsection (2) above and he has not since had a home with his father.
(4)Nothing in this section prejudices any existing rule of law as to the cases in which a child's domicile is regarded as being, by dependence, that of his mother.
(5)In this section, " child" means a person incapable of having an independent domicile; and in its application to a child who has been adopted, references to his father and his mother shall be construed as references to his adoptive father and mother.
(6)This section extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.