What Happens if an Executor Dies Before they Complete the Administration of an Estate?

Dealing with the administration of an estate can be a complex process and depending on the assets held, it can take some time for all matters to be fully resolved. An executor is the person responsible for dealing with the deceased’s assets. However, if the executor themselves then passes away, who will be able to finalise the original estate?

In any circumstances, the passing of an executor will affect the time taken to deal with the administration of an estate.

If the executor was appointed under a will of the deceased, and had also made their own Will, then a ‘chain of executorship’ will apply. This will allow for the newly appointed executor to also deal with the original estate as the legal authority has been passed from one party to another.

If, however, on the first death there was no Will or no validly appointed executor, and a Grant of Letters of Administration was issued, then the ‘chain of executorship’ doesn’t apply. This would also be the case if the executor of the original estate did not have their own Will in place.

If there are still outstanding assets in the original estate, then an application would need to be made to the Probate Registry for a Grant de bonis non administratis (otherwise known as a Grant de bonis non). This is a special form of a Grant from the Probate Registry in which an entitled third party applies for and is granted the legal authority to conclude the administration of the original estate.

Where a special form of Grant is required, a paper application to the Probate Registry is needed and this will generally take several months, if not longer for the Grant to be issued. This can be problematic where assets in the estate are waiting to be dealt with; for example, the sale of a property. Whilst an application for a Grant of Probate for the estate of an executor would also add to the timescale, in most cases the delay will not be as significant and will allow for the original estate to be fully administered sooner, ultimately allowing for distribution to the beneficiaries of their inheritance.  

The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only.