Citations

If an executor is failing to act, is acting too slowly, or has begun administering the estate without formal authority, the law provides a series of procedures known as Citations. These are formal steps designed to prompt the executor to either take up their role properly or step aside so someone else can.

Citation to accept or refuse a Grant

A Citation to accept or refuse a Grant is used where a person with the primary right to act as executor or administrator is failing to apply for the Grant.

This Citation requires the executor to:

• Enter an Appearance confirming their intention to apply for the Grant,
  or
• Risk losing their priority to administer the estate

If the cited executor files an Appearance, they must then take active steps to apply for the Grant. If they fail to do so, the person who issued the Citation (the “Citor”) may apply to the Court to obtain the Grant themselves.

This procedure is particularly useful where:

• The named executor is refusing to act
• There is no communication from the executor
• The estate is stalled before probate has even begun

Citation to take probate

A citation to take probate is used where someone has intermeddled (taken steps to deal with the estate) without taking out a Grant, and then fails to complete the administration.

Intermeddling may include:

• Collecting or accessing assets
• Paying bills
• Selling items
• Corresponding with banks or third parties on behalf of the estate

Once a person intermeddles, they may be treated as having accepted executorship duties, even if they have not applied for the Grant. A citation to take probate forces them to either:

• Apply for the Grant and complete administration properly,
  or
• File an Appearance and justify their conduct

If they do neither, the beneficiary can seek Court directions for the intermeddler to take the Grant—or, alternatively, for the Court to allow the beneficiary to apply instead.

Citation to propound a Will

Where the deceased left multiple Wills, or there is disagreement about which Will is valid, a citation to propound a Will may be necessary.

This citation compels the executors named in the disputed Will to:

• File an Appearance, and
• Apply for a Grant of Probate of that Will (i.e., propound it and prove its validity)

If they fail to do so, the Citor may apply for orders declaring that the disputed Will is invalid and proceed with probate under an earlier Will or under intestacy.

This mechanism is commonly used in disputes involving:

• Later Wills of uncertain validity
• Homemade or unwitnessed Wills
• Allegations of undue influence or lack of capacity

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