(1) Where, by the terms of a bequest, the legatee is entitled to the immediate payment or possession of the money or thing bequeathed, but is a minor, and there is no direction in the will to pay it to any person on his behalf, the executor or administrator shall pay or deliver the same into the Court of the District Judge, by whom or by whose District Delegate the probate was, or letters of administration with the will annexed were, granted to the account of the legatee, unless the legatee is a ward of the Court of Wards.
(2) If the legatee is a ward of the Court of Wards, the legacy shall be paid to the Court of Wards to his account.
(3) Such payment into the Court of the District Judge, or to the Court of Wards, as the case may be, shall be a sufficient discharge for the money so paid.
(4) Money when paid in under this section shall be invested in the purchase of Government securities, which, with the interest thereon, shall be transferred or paid to the person entitled thereto, or otherwise applied for his benefit, as the Judge or the Court of Wards, as the case may be, may direct.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 348
Section 348 establishes the mandatory procedure when a minor is entitled to immediate payment or possession of a bequest and the will contains no direction appointing a trustee or authorizing payment to a person on the minor's behalf.
Executors must never pay a minor's legacy to parents or informal guardians without a formal guardianship order under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. Deposit the funds in the District Court or invest in a Nationalized Bank fixed deposit in the minor's name under Section 348.