Trusts, Estates & Tax: what makes a winning team - Part 6

In October 2023, the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Law Society awarded me (Louise Lewis) “Lawyer of the Year” in recognition of my work with my team, with my community and with the legal profession, including my voluntary work with STEP. I was very quick to publish my thoughts to say that this was not my award, but my team’s award and that everything we do, we do as a team. I therefore wanted to take the opportunity this year to showcase the team and to let everyone know about the work that we do.

Next to be profiled is Associate, Mark Baker and below is an example of his recent work.

Acting for the independent administrator of an estate, where the deceased died intestate, leaving a large property portfolio: the role of an independent administrator.

This is an interesting case that highlights the importance of ensuring your affairs are in order and the role of an independent administrator, when a dispute arises between beneficiaries.

The deceased passed away unexpectedly, without a Will. He had never been married but had adult children from previous relationships. The deceased managed a significant property portfolio, of around forty buy to let properties, and was assisted with this by his current partner. All income and outgoings for the properties went through the deceased’s personal bank account and he also managed all of the day-to-day administration.

After the deceased’s death his personal accounts were frozen and a claim against his estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 was initiated by his partner. Under the intestacy rules, the deceased’s children were entitled to administer and benefit from the estate, and they indicated that they would defend this claim. 

This prevented the deceased’s children, as the people entitled to administer the estate under the intestacy rules, from obtaining a Grant of Representation. They were therefore unable to take any practical steps to administer the property portfolio and this led to large arrears accruing, for mortgage, service charge and utility accounts. In addition, without a grant, there was no one who was legally entitled to receive the rent from the tenants, so the estate was missing out on income. 

This vacuum led to this firm’s trust corporation, Freeths Trustees Limited, being appointed as an independent administrator, under a Grant Ad Colligenda Bona. 

A Grant Ad Colligenda Bona is a limited grant and it is issued in circumstances where a grant is needed urgently to deal with estate assets, to preserve and maintain the estate and prevent any loss. As it is limited, it does not allow for distributions to be made, so it is a temporary measure until a full grant is issued. The grant was issued to the independent administrator in this case to allow them to regularise the position with the property portfolio, to prevent further loss to the estate.

Once appointed, the independent administrator acted swiftly to secure the properties, collect in the rental arrears and liaise with creditors to deal with the outstanding liabilities. This prevented, for example, mortgage companies taking steps to repossess properties that had fallen into arrears.

The independent administrator continues to act under the limited grant to preserve and maintain the estate, whilst the claim is settled between the interested parties.

Making a Will can help to prevent any complications after for your estate, particularly if your estate is complex. Our solicitors can help you with your estate planning. Equally, if complications do arise in an estate administration, we are on hand to help and offer advice.