Administrator Pending Litigation (APL)

Weisstock v Weisstock 2019 BCSC 517 involved two acrimonious brothers in an estate dispute where the court ultimately removed both of them as executors and appointed a retired lawyer under section 103 WESA to be the administrator of the estate pending a proceeding.

Lawyers refer to such as an APL, an administrator pendente lite (pending litigation) , and it is a widely used remedy when the validity of a will is in dispute and the executor is not allowed to proceed, or in such a situation where the two brothers could simply not agree on anything, thus bringing the estate administration to a halt.

S 103 WESA states as follows:

1) The court may appoint a person as the administrator of the estate of a deceased person, pending a proceeding

A) in which the validity of the will of the deceased person is an issue, or
B) to obtain or revoke a representation grant

2. The administrator of an estate

A) Has all the rights, powers and duties of a personal representative, other than the right to distribute the estate
B) is subject to the control of the court, and must act under its direction, and
C) is entitled to reasonable compensation under the trustee act or is otherwise determined by the court.

It has been held that the appointment of an APL may be appropriate if the named executor cannot be neutral in anticipated litigation. – Armour v . Fuller 2009, BC SC 409

In Re Bazo (1964) 2 OR 236 (CA) , the court held that it is generally not appropriate for one of the parties to the litigation to be appointed as APL under this kind of provision.

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