Succession Act 1981

The personal representative of a deceased person shall be under a duty to—

collect and get in the real and personal estate of the deceased and administer it according to law; and

when required to do so by the court, exhibit on oath in the court a full inventory of the estate and when so required render an account of the administration of the estate to the court; and

when required to do so by the court, deliver up the grant of probate or letters of administration to the court; and

distribute the estate of the deceased, subject to the administration thereof, as soon as may be; and

pay interest upon any general legacy—

from the first anniversary of the death of the testator until payment of the legacy; or

in the case of a legacy that is, pursuant to a provision of the will, payable at a future date—from that date until payment of the legacy;

Nothing in subsection (1) abrogates any rule or practice deriving from the principle of the executor’s year or any rule or practice under which a beneficiary is entitled to receive interest upon any legacy from the date of the testator’s death.

If the personal representative neglects to perform his or her duties as aforesaid the court may, upon the application of any person aggrieved by such neglect, make such order as it thinks fit including an order for damages and an order requiring the personal representative to pay interest on such sums of money as have been in the personal representative’s hands and the costs of the application.