Personal representatives: could the estate be losing value while you apply for a Grant?

Megan Bradley - Private Client

With the troubling backlog of probate applications persisting after the Covid-19 pandemic, it is still taking in the region of 13-16 weeks for Grants of Representation to be issued by the Probate Registry. On top of that it can take some time to collate the information required to make the application in the first place.

Many personal representatives have therefore found themselves in a situation where not only are they unable to progress an estate's administration, but that delay will cause a loss to the value of the estate.

For example, if the deceased was in the process of selling their house when they died, in order to complete the sale, a Grant will be required. The time required to value the entire estate in order to apply for Probate could mean the property sale falling through with consequential costs and loss for the estate.

Alternatively, if the deceased was running a sole trade business, the delay caused by carrying out the whole Probate process may prevent the business continuing and impact the value that will ultimately pass to the beneficiaries.

Can Executors do anything in these situations?
Yes, they can apply for an Ad Colligenda Bona Grant of Representation which is a Grant limited to collecting in and preserving an estate. Its purpose is to fill the gap between the application for and issue of a Grant where a Grant is urgently required to prevent a loss in value to an estate.

So, for an example, a limited Grant would have an express power to sell the deceased's property or to continue running the deceased's business.

Is a full Grant still needed?
Yes. Any personal representative looking to progress an estate administration under the authority of an Ad Colligenda Bona Grant must be aware that this type of Grant is completely limited to preserving an estate and to the powers expressly included.

So, for example, they could not proceed to distribute the estate using that Grant.

Therefore, once the Ad Colligenda Bona Grant has fulfilled its intended purpose of preventing any loss to an estate, it is imperative that a full Grant of Representation is applied for to enable personal representatives to finalise the administration.

Executors should seek professional advice if there are any situations where obtaining a Grant in relation to a specific asset could prevent loss to an estate.

Our Private Client Team has expertise to assist with this and all other aspects of estate administration. Contact us here.