Intermeddling in an estate

Produced in partnership with Jenny Bird and Charlotte Kynaston of Macfarlanes

Practice notes

Intermeddling in an estate

Produced in partnership with Jenny Bird and Charlotte Kynaston of Macfarlanes

Practice notes

What is Intermeddling?

An individual who performs certain duties which a personal representative (PR) would perform to administer a deceased’s estate intermeddles in the estate. By performing these duties, the individual holds themselves out to be a PR and is deemed to have accepted the role as PR. This is the case even if the individual is not entitled to be a PR or does not wish to be a PR of the deceased’s estate.

An individual who intermeddles in an estate is liable as an executor de son tort (broadly translated, an executor by their own wrongdoing). The concept derives from the general principle that if someone without Authority acts as if they have authority, they should be held accountable as if they actually had that authority. On a practical level, the concept prevents individuals from administering an estate deliberately without taking out a Grant of Representation and thereby escaping all liability for their actions.

What constitutes intermeddling?

Section 28 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925) provides that an individual

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Intermeddling definition

What does Intermeddling mean?

An individual who performs certain duties which a personal representative would perform to administer a deceased’s estate intermeddles in the estate. By performing these duties, the individual holds themselves out to be a personal representative and is deemed to have accepted the role.

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