An executor is appointed under a Will to administer the deceased’s estate by collecting in the deceased’s assets, paying the deceased’s debts and then distributing the assets to the beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of the Will.
All the time, the executor is under a legal obligation to discharge his duties in a diligent manner. However, if an executor does not do so responsibly, the consequences can be quite serious.
In the recent Supreme Court of NSW case of Richardson v Richardson [2021] NSWSC 353 a mother passed away in 2016 and under her Will appointed her three sons as executors. One of the sons continued to occupy his mother’s home for four years rent free, preventing the sale of the house. The other two sons obtained Court orders removing him as an executor and ejecting him from the home.
The Court then had to decide if the freeloading son had to pay rent for the four years he was in occupation. The Court determined that he was in breach of his duties as an executor and was liable for the loss of rent the house would have received from the date of his mother’s death until he ceased to be an executor. He was also liable for legal costs and interest and the total moneys were to be deducted from his share of the estate.
In other words, if you are appointed as an executor of an estate, do not willfully disregard your duties even if you have a sense of entitlement as a child of the deceased. A Court will not be that sympathetic!
June 2021