Personal representative

Personal representative

In common law jurisdictions, a personal representative is the generic term for an executor for the estate of a deceased person who left a will or the administrator of an intestate estate. [Hayton & Marshall (2005) 1-127-1-128] In either case, a Surrogate Court of competent jurisdiction issues a finding of fact, including that a will has or has not been filed, and that an executor or administrator has been appointed. These are often referred to as "letters testamentary", "letters of administration" or "letters of representation", as the case may be. These documents, with the appropriate death certificate are often the only license a person needs to do the banking, stock trading, real estate transactions and other actions necessary to marshal and dispose of the decedent's estate in the name of the estate itself.

As a fiduciary, a personal representative has the duties of:
# loyalty
# candor or honesty
# good faith.

In the U.S., "punctilio of honor", or the highest standard of honor, is the term used to describe the level of scrupulousness that a fiduciary must abide by. ["Meinhard v. Salmon", 164 N.E. 545 (N.Y. 1928).]

Types of personal representatives include:
* Executor or Executrix (term for females)
* Alternate executor
* Administrator
* Ancilllary administrator
* Administrator "de bonis non" - one acting without complete authority
* Public administrator
* Guardian
* Conservator

In the U.S., the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants appointed a Personal Representative (CSRT) to meet with each captive who was still being held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba, in August 2004, when the Supreme Court forced the Department of Defense to start convening Combatant Status Review Tribunals.

References

Bibliography

*cite book |author=Hayton , D. & Marshall, C. |year=2005 |title=Commentary and Cases on the Law of Trusts and Equitable Remedies |publisher=Sweet & Maxwell |location=London |id=ISBN 0-421-90190-X


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • personal representative — n: one recognized as the representative of another party or his or her interests; specif: an executor or administrator who may bring or be subject to an action or proceeding for or against a deceased person and his or her estate when a person who …   Law dictionary

  • personal representative — ➔ representative1 * * * personal representative UK US noun [C] ► LAW someone who acts officially for someone who has died: »If there is no will, the personal representative shares out the estate according to rules that consider the rights of a… …   Financial and business terms

  • Personal Representative (CSRT) — The Personal Representative is an officer who serves before the Combatant Status Review Tribunals, convened for the captives the United States holds in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.cite web url=http://www …   Wikipedia

  • personal representative — noun a person who manages the affairs of another • Hypernyms: ↑representative • Hyponyms: ↑legal representative * * * noun : a person (as an executor or administrator for a deceased person, heir, or next of kin for an ancestor, a devisee or… …   Useful english dictionary

  • personal representative — A person whose duty is to gather in the assets of the estate of a deceased person, to pay his liabilities, and to distribute the residue. Personal representatives of a person dying testate are known as executors; those of a person dying intestate …   Big dictionary of business and management

  • personal representative — Ordinarily, the executor or administrator of a decedent s estate. 31 Am J2d Ex & Ad § 1. For some purposes, an heir, next of kin, assignee, trustee, receiver, etc. 12 Am J2d Bonds § 24; 29A Am J Rev ed Ins § 1656; 36 Am J2d Frat O § 154. For the… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • discharge of personal representative — A court order releasing the personal representative (administrator or /executor) from any further duties connected with the probate of an estate. This typically occurs when the duties have been completed but may happen sooner if the executor or… …   Law dictionary

  • foreign personal representative — A personal representative of another jurisdiction. Uniform Probate Code, No. 1 201(14) …   Black's law dictionary

  • foreign personal representative — A personal representative of another jurisdiction. Uniform Probate Code, No. 1 201(14) …   Black's law dictionary

  • representative — rep·re·sen·ta·tive 1 adj 1: serving to represent 2 a: standing or acting for another esp. through delegated authority an agent acting in a representative capacity b: of, based on, or constituting a government in which the people are represented… …   Law dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”