Administrator: plain-English guide for Irish probate
The person appointed by the court to administer an estate where the deceased left no will or no willing executor.
What it means, in plain English
An administrator performs the same role as an executor, but is appointed by the Probate Office rather than named in a will. Administrators are appointed where the person who died left no will, where the will is invalid, or where the named executors have all refused, died before the deceased, or are unable to act.
Administrator in Irish probate practice
In Ireland, the order of priority for who may apply to be an administrator follows the intestacy rules in Section 67 of the Succession Act 1965. The surviving spouse or civil partner has the first right, then the children, then the parents, then siblings. If the person with first priority renounces, the next in line can apply. Administrators take on the full weight of estate administration: applying for Letters of Administration, gathering assets, settling debts, filing the SA2 and any CAT returns, and distributing the estate. The statutory distribution rules are fixed, which in practice can be more constraining than a will-directed administration. Administrators are sometimes required to give an administration bond as security, particularly where beneficiaries include minors or where the estate is complex. The paperwork differs from a Grant of Probate application: an Oath for Administrator rather than an Oath for Executor, and additional affidavits setting out the basis on which the applicant has priority.
Worked example
Patrick dies without a will, leaving two adult children. Their mother died before Patrick. Under the intestacy rules, the two children inherit the estate equally and one of them has the right to apply for Letters of Administration. The eldest, Niamh, applies as administrator. She swears the Oath for Administrator, files the Revenue SA2, notifies the institutions, and, once Letters of Administration issue, distributes the estate half to herself and half to her brother.
The statutory position
Section 67 of the Succession Act 1965 sets the order of intestate succession and the order of priority for administration. Section 27(4) of the same Act allows the Probate Office to appoint a different administrator where the person with priority cannot or will not act. Order 79 of the Rules of the Superior Courts sets the oath and bond requirements.
Related terms in this glossary
Related reading
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