Appointment Of Independent Administrators And Trustees Solicitors

Our appointment of independent administrators and trustees specialists are here to help

Who are we?

Our Independent Administrator and Trustee offering is headed up by Andrew Wilkinson with assistance from Tamsin Walker. Andrew and Tamsin both sit within the Inheritance Disputes team and both work with clients nationally.

We are a “one stop shop” being able to deal with all the issues that arise in a complex trust or estate, including litigation, property, planning, development, corporate, private wealth and family law.

What is an Independent Administrator or Trustee?

An Independent Administrator or Trustee is a neutral third party appointed by the court to administer the estate of a deceased individual. Unlike relatives or friends, they have no personal links to the deceased or the beneficiaries and will act impartially in progressing the administration in accordance with the best interests of the estate.

When might an Independent Administrator or Trustee be necessary?

We are seeing more and more occasions whereby a point is reached in estate administrations where it becomes necessary for an independent to become involved.  This can be due to a number of reasons such as:

• A dispute between executors/trustees and beneficiaries that is preventing the ongoing administration;
• The executors/trustees being in a position of conflict;
• An executor or trustee being unable or unfit to fulfil their duties;
• An executor having failed to progress the administration of the estate;
• A complex estate or trust whereby the executor/trustee does not have the necessary expertise to manage it effectively; or
• In situations where there is no valid will but several beneficiaries who have standing to apply for a grant of letters of administration and they are unable to agree upon who should act.

In those circumstances, it is open to the executors or beneficiaries to make an application to court seeking replacement of the original executor with an independent professional. Doing so can simplify the estate administration process and offer peace of mind that the wishes of the deceased are being honoured as they intended.

Why choose us?

• We have a multitude of STEP and ACTAPS qualified lawyers across the firm with extensive experience of handling complex estate administrations and as a full-service law firm have the ability in house to deal with the whole process of estate administration until final distributions are made;
• With our connection to Shakespeare Martineau LLP, we are one of a few firms who are a member of the NAIA (National Association of Independent Administrators) and The Association of Corporate Trustees;
• We are a member of the MultiLaw network, which enables us to work with a global network of law firms for estates with an international element;
• Appointments are taking on via our trust corporation, which ensures continuity and avoids the risk of the administration of the Trust being disrupted due to illness, retirement or death of an individual;
• As a neutral third party, we seek to minimise conflicts and do not take sides but focus any decision making upon what is in the best interests of the estate as a whole and are experienced in handling difficult conversations; and
• We act as a liaison between the beneficiaries and any third parties involved ensuring there is clear communication and updates to all parties; and
• We have experience in acting as interim manager for charities and are a member of the Charity Commission panel for interim managers and have a well-regarded in house charity law department;
• We endeavour to deal with the administration in the most efficient and cost effective manner that we can so as to enable the parties to move on with their lives in the comfort of knowing their loved one’s wishes have been carried out.