Can a BC Court Appoint a Neutral Estate Administrator?

Yes. Under sections 103 and 132 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, a BC Supreme Court judge can appoint an administrator while a dispute plays out. Section 103 covers administration pending legal proceedings, and section 132 lets the court appoint an administrator in special circumstances, with powers set by the court order.

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Full transcript

Can the court appoint a neutral person to manage the estate while the family fights? Yes, so under sections 103 and 132 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, that allows a Supreme Court justice to appoint an interim administrator to manage the administration of the estate while there might be disputes going on between the beneficiaries and their personal capacities that have basically prevented the appointed executor from being able to act efficiently or effectively to administer the estate. And sections 103 covers a pure administrator pending litigation appointments where an administrator is appointed just for the purposes of managing the estate for the litigation.

So it’s a much more limited appointment. And section 132 is a special administrator in special circumstances. So that gives the court wide latitude to fashion an order that fits the case and that could limit or expand the powers of that administrator to any point to simply just obtain documents, to actually actively administering to the estate, to actually distributing the estate to the beneficiaries, it’s quite broad and it’s governed by whatever is ordered in the court order.

General information, not legal advice.