1An administrator who claims personal entitlement to significant estate assets (such as lease income and the entirety of the estate property), who enters into a sale of the principal estate asset at a potentially significant undervalue to a former business associate, and who delays administration and fails to pay estate debts, presents actual conflicts of interest warranting removal under s 6 of the Succession Act 1981 (Qld).
2The test for conflict of interest in fiduciary administration is objective: a conflict arises where there is a real and sensible possibility that the fiduciary's personal interests divide their loyalty such that they cannot properly discharge duties to beneficiaries, assessed from the standpoint of an objective observer with knowledge of all relevant facts.
3Where multiple and compounding conflicts of interest exist — including disputed ownership of estate assets, a non-arm's-length sale, unresolved estate debts, and the administrator's claim to the entire estate — the due and proper administration of the estate in the interests of beneficiaries requires appointment of an independent administrator.
