With such grants the power of the administrator is also limited

Representing a deceased person for whose estate no administrator has been appointed, may be done through a limited grant. This could be for a limited duration and for a specific purpose, such as if an action is brought against the estate, for a civil debt or a civil wrong or under a contract or in respect of property.

The same may occur in the case of an action or other proceeding pending before a court, the party against whom the action was brought has died and the representation of his estate is required for the continuation of the proceeding.

The person to be appointed as administrator for the specific purpose of representing the estate of the deceased must give consent to their appointment. However, where no interest is shown by any person in appointment, a right is also granted to a creditor, as otherwise they would be deprived of their constitutionally guaranteed right for recourse to a competent court to advance their alleged claim.

A necessary requirement for the granting of a limited grant is the presentation to the registrar of a certificate from the tax commissioner, under article 7 of Law 78(I)/2000, stating that there is no objection to the issue of such grant.

Before issuing the limited grant, the competent registrar must obtain relevant instructions from the court and the grant shall specify the purpose of its granting. If there is no movable or immovable property in the name of the deceased, this does not affect the issuance of the grant. It is not a requirement for such a special appointment.

The power of the administrator is limited

The power of the administrator with a limited grant is limited and as follows from the application of article 19 of Administration of Estates Law, Cap.189, the administrator is not equated with an ordinary administrator of the estate of a deceased person.

Their appointment ceases to be valid upon the completion of the relevant lawsuit and the administrator has no right to proceed with the distribution of the estate. Their power and responsibility are limited to the representation of the deceased in the specific lawsuit.

Judgment of Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal, in its judgement issued in C.A. E185/2019, dated April 29, examined the appeal of an appellant who challenged the interim decision of the court of first instance which rejected his application to replace the administrator with himself.

Specifically, despite the appellant agreeing to the appointment of the respondent as administrator with a limited grant to defend a lawsuit against the estate of his deceased brother, and a final decision being issued in the lawsuit and the grant ceasing to be valid, he nevertheless sought the replacement of the administrator.

The Court of Appeal upheld the first-instance decision, noting that in this case the limited grant was issued exclusively for the purpose of bringing and/or defending a lawsuit against the deceased’s estate in relation to the purchase of a house, in which lawsuit a decision was issued. Since the purpose for which the grant was issued ceased with the court’s decision, the registrar considered that there was no longer any reason for the grant to be in force and proceeded to close the administration.

Referring to case law, it adopted stated that the administrator of the estate with a limited grant is not equated with an ordinary administrator, so as to be liable for the manner of managing the estate.

In view of the fact that the administrator does not have the obligations and duties of an ordinary administrator they are safeguarded from the expenses that will occur and cannot be held liable for negligence.

The Court of Appeal concluded that the grant was limited to the defence of the intended action and that the appointment of the administrator ceased to be effective upon the completion of the action.

His appointment as administrator of the deceased’s estate was completed with the issuance of the decision in the action, which resolved the legal dispute for which the limited grant was granted. The Probate Registrar very correctly closed the file, since the purpose of the limited grant had been completed, therefore the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

George Coucounis is a lawyer specialising in Immovable Property Law, based in Larnaca. E-mail: [email protected], tel: 24818288