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Administration of an Estate - LPC NOTES
- Module
- LPC - Wills
- Institution
- Swansea University (SWAN)
Brief overview of the administration of estates.
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Wills and Administration of Estate – Administration of EstatesAdministration of an Estate.
One the personal representatives have obtained the grant, they are able to start the administration
of the estate. The work involved in administering an estate is basically the same whether the
deceased died testate or intestate. However, when the deceased has died intestate the beneficiaries
will be ascertained by application of the law of intestacy rather than from construction of the will.
The personal representatives will have to:
Collect the deceased’s assets
Pay the deceased’s funeral and testamentary expenses and debts
Distribute the legacies
Complete the administration and distribute the residuary estate.
The administration period.
The administration period commences the moment immediately following the death and ends when
the personal representatives are in a position to vest the residue of the estate in the beneficiaries or
the trustees if a trust arises under the will or the intestacy law.
A personal representative holds office for life. If further assets or liabilities are discovered after the
residue has been transferred the personal representatives will still have to deal with them.
Duties of the personal representatives.
The administration of estates act 1925 section 25 states that the personal representatives of a
deceased person shall be under a duty to collect and get in the real and personal estate of the
deceased and administer it according to law.
The duties to be undertaken by a personal representative are onerous. They are personal liable for
loss to the estate resulting from any breach of duty he commits as a personal representative.
There are several types of breach including failing to protect the value of the assets and failing to pay
the people entitled to assets.
The trustee act 1925 section 61 gives the court power at its discretion to relieve a personal
representative from liability for breach of duty if it is satisfied that the personal representative has
acted honestly and reasonably and ought fairly to be excused for the breach.
An executor may be able to rely on a clause in the deceased’s will providing protection from liability
for mistakes made in good faith.
Protection against liability.
Personal representatives can protect themselves against personal liability to unknown beneficiaries
by complying with the requirements of the trustee act 1925, section 27.
Section 27 will not protect personal representatives against claims from beneficiaries whose
existence is known but who cannot be traced. They may apply for a Benjamin order or take out
insurance to cover risk.
Personal representatives will be personally liable where an applicant under the inheritance
(provision for family and dependants) act 1975 successfully obtains an order for reasonable financial
provision from the estate if they did not wait more than 6 months following the date of the grant of
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