Administration Orders

Where a person owning Guernsey real property has died without leaving a Will clearly setting out who the new owners as heirs of that property are, eg, there is an intestacy, an application for an Administration Order may be made, usually by an heir.

If the Applicant is ordinarily resident in Guernsey, it is usual for the Applicant to nominate himself or herself to be the Administrator to be appointed. If the Applicant is not ordinarily resident in Guernsey and wants the Court to appoint another person who is ordinarily resident in Guernsey, the Applicant needs to liaise with and seek the approval of HM Procureur. A company or firm may not be appointed as Administrator. (Please see s.4 of The Law Reform (Inheritance and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Guernsey) Law, 2006 which can be found on the Guernsey Legal Resources website www.guernseylegalresources.gg.)

In the case of the appointment of someone other than the Applicant as Administrator two applications may have to be made to the Court. The first for the appointment of the Administrator, the second made by the Administrator to distribute the proceeds of sale of real property. Such applications would need to be accompanied by an affidavit from the Administrator in compliance with s.9(11) of the 2006 Law. The two applications do not necessary have to be made at the same time. Some applicants may prefer to obtain an Administration Order first and then move on to obtaining an order to permit the distribution of the net proceeds of sale at a later date.

A notice giving details of the application is usually published in the Gazette Official section of the Guernsey Press during the week prior to the hearing. An example of such a notice is attached hereto to assist.

Applications for Administration Orders are heard in the Friday Ordinary Court which sits at 9.30 am on every working Friday during the year. The Applicant is normally expected to attend Court, although in the case of some who is not ordinarily resident in Guernsey, it is open to the Judge to dispense with their attendance where the person to be appointed as Administrator will be present in Court. The Administrator if appointed, will be required to take an oath or to affirm.

Copies of the forms can be downloaded under the Forms link in the left hand column or can be obtained from the Greffe.