Managing and preserving the estates of a deceased's person: the extent of personal representatives' powers and liabilities in Malaysia
A personal representative is a fiduciary put in charge of administering the estate of a deceased’s person. The personal representative must at the utmost act with the highest degree of trustworthiness and good faith to ensure that the estate is administered accordingly. As the personal represe...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
AENSI Publisher
2014
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Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/37920/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/37920/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/37920/7/Aust._J._Basic_%26_Appl._Sci._2014.pdf |
Summary: | A personal representative is a fiduciary put in charge of administering the estate of a
deceased’s person. The personal representative must at the utmost act with the highest degree of
trustworthiness and good faith to ensure that the estate is administered accordingly. As the
personal representative steps into the dead man’s shoes, he is vested with some powers to enable
him to manage and preserve the estate. Nevertheless, one question that has nagged the office of
personal representative is that what should be the extent of his liabilities for any losses resulting
from actions taken in the course of exercising his powers. Hence, this paper seeks to examine the
powers vested in a personal representative and to identify the extent of the personal
representative’s liabilities in dealing with the deceased’s estate. For this purpose, the discussion
focuses to analyze relevant statutory provisions as provided by the Probate and Administration Act
1959. An analysis of the decided cases is also made to determine the rights of the personal
representative in the exercise of his powers and the available remedy to the legal heirs in cases of
mismanagement or negligence on part of the personal representative. The paper predicates that as
the personal representative holds a fiduciary duty to ensure that the estate is administered
accordingly, he needs to conform to the fiduciary duties and standard of conduct, failing which
would result in personal liability or legal action instituted against him by the legal heirs or other
interested parties.
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