Conflict of interests by administrator

Vintagevamp

Can anyone advise me? The administrator, who is not a beneficiary, of an intestate estate, has taken money out of the estate without the beneficiaries permission for what he calls "lost income" and also assets for his personal use, which should have been sold.

Is this classed as conflict of interests and can he be asked to return the money and value of assets to the estate? Are the beneficiaries legally entitled to have an inventory of the effects and assets if they are not allowed access to inspect them? Should the beneficiaries receive a full set of accounts when the final payout is made?

RAS

Speak to the Probate Registry

getmore4less

How did they become administrator,

The benifitiaries have priority with intestate estates.

Unless acting in profetional capacity they cannot charge.

the courts can(and will in most cases) order an inventory and account.

ValHaller

No, it is not 'conflict of interest' which is different altogether.

It does look like 'misappropriation'. The executor can only use resources from the estate wholly and necessarily for the administration of the estate.

Vintagevamp

Thank you for your advice, much appreciated.

dzug1

It may be (just about) legitimate for him to buy items from the estate for his own use provided he pays the aoppropriate market value.

But I don't see how he can be administrator anyway without being a beneficiary. The Probate Office wouldn't allow it - normally anyway. Are you sure he wasn't appointed by them in a professional capacity?

Tuesday_Tenor

dzug1 wrote: »

But I don't see how he can be administrator anyway without being a beneficiary. The Probate Office wouldn't allow it - normally anyway. Are you sure he wasn't appointed by them in a professional capacity?

I wondered about this too. Normally there is a strict priority order of which relatives can apply for Letters of Administration where there is no will. This is detailed in the guidance PA2 here:
http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetForm.do?court_forms_id=735

However, on thinking about it, if all the closest relatives who will be beneficiaries are minors (say children of an already widowed deceased person), then another relative who would not a be beneficiary (say sibling of the deceased) could probably apply to be administrator.

So I think, in uncommon circumstances, you can be a non-professional administrator of an estate of which you are not a beneficiary.

Edit: Actually, it might not be all that uncommon: if the deceased was a single parent, for instance ...

madbadrob

Actually the comments on this thread are incorrect. As administrator of an intestate estate the only money that can be taken from the estate are out of pocket expenses. Only a professional body such as a solicitor or an accountant can take money from an estate for administering it. Out of pocket expenses are things such as the cost of a letter so practicably 70p per letter. Any costs associated with cleaning any property that needs to be sold etc. The administrator has no right to remove any possession for themselves unless it forms his share of the estate.
Its conflicts like these that make me more minded that executors of wills and administrators of intestate estates should not be beneficiaries.

Rob

ValHaller

madbadrob wrote: »

Actually the comments on this thread are incorrect. As administrator of an intestate estate the only money that can be taken from the estate are out of pocket expenses. Only a professional body such as a solicitor or an accountant can take money from an estate for administering it.

nobody has suggested any different, so I am struggling to find an incorrect post.

Vintagevamp

Just to put you in the picture, the intestator (is that right?) left two beneficiaries who did not want to be involved in administering the estate so they both resigned and one beneficiary's son took on the role.

The situation is now resolved as the administrator has agreed to return the monies to the estate.

madbadrob

ValHaller wrote: »

nobody has suggested any different, so I am struggling to find an incorrect post.

I wasnt relating to my point in general I was relating to a number of posts that were in the thread.

Rob