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View the related practice notes about Trustee de son tort

Personal representatives—authority prior to grant of representation

ExecutorsGeneralAn executor is a person appointed by the testator, usually by their Will or codicil, to:•administer their property, and•carry into effect the provisions of the WillThe office of executor derives from the testator’s Will or other testamentary document. The grant of probate confirms the executor’s authority to act.In practice an executor can only prove their entitlement by taking a grant of probate and this will often be required by banks and other institutions in order for the executor to be permitted to deal with the asset and collect it in.The testator’s property vests in the executor from the date of death without any interval of time.A testator may appoint:•different executors for different parts of their estate•certain people as executors of their property abroad and others of their property in the UK•separate executors of real estate•separate executors of literary estateThe High Court may grant probate or letters of administration in respect of any part of the estate of a deceased person limited in any way it thinks fit.Acts done before probateBefore...

Trust disputes—claims in negligence against trustees for their administration of the trust

This Practice Note is concerned with those breaches of duty by a trustee which consist solely of negligent acts or omissions, and which do not involve either the misapplication of trust funds or the breach of fiduciary duties, for example the duty which trustees have, to prefer the beneficiaries’ interests to their own interests. Liability for the misapplication of trust funds and for breaches of fiduciary duties are treated differently from liability for negligent breach of trust, and are considered in other Practice Notes.Before turning to negligent breach, however, it is necessary to touch on the distinctions between this and other types of breach.In brief, a trustee’s liability for negligent breach of trust is a liability to make equitable compensation, which is akin to a professional’s liability in negligence. It is therefore to be distinguished from trustees’ liability to reimburse a trust where they have misapplied the assets by, for example, paying them to the wrong persons or paying them in circumstances where payment is not authorised or by making...