Administration

Abstract

This chapter discusses the basic essentials of the law of administration. It addresses two central questions: Who administers the deceased’s estate? What does administration entail? It is the deceased’s personal representatives who administer the estate, either executors or administrators. Executors are the representatives appointed by the testator under his will (usually) to administer his estate. Administrators, on the other hand, are appointed by the court. This occurs where the deceased died intestate or, less frequently, where there was a will but no proving executor. The administration of the estate entails principally obtaining a grant of representation—a grant of probate in the case of a will, a grant of letters of administration in an intestacy—collecting and managing the assets of the estate, paying the debts and liabilities, and distributing the net estate according to the testator’s will or the rules of intestacy.