Who has the right to administer an estate?
The personal representatives (PRs) of the deceased have the right to administer an estate in England and Wales. Where someone has left a valid will appointing PRs, they are called executors, and where the deceased died intestate or failed to appoint executors in his or her will, the PRs are appointed by the court and are called administrators. The court will also appoint administrators if validly appointed executors choose to renounce probate (ie, if they choose not to act as executors). The latter administer the estate according to the intestacy rules.
How does title to a deceased’s assets pass to the heirs and successors? What are the rules for administration of the estate?
Where the deceased left a valid will, his or her estate vests in the executors at the date of death. Where a deceased dies intestate, the estate vests in the public trustee until a grant of administration is made by the court, at which point the estate vests in the administrators.
The grant of probate or administration (together a grant of representation) enables the PRs to obtain title to the assets of the deceased and to distribute them to his or her heirs.
England & Wales Guide
The England & Wales guide answers the principal questions for Private Clients relating to the law in this jurisdiction.
