Administration Act 1903

As a condition of granting administration to any person the Court may, subject to the following provisions of this section and subject to and in accordance with the rules, require one or more sureties to guarantee that they will make good, within any limit imposed by the Court on the total liability of the surety or sureties, any loss that any person interested in the administration of the estate of the deceased may suffer in consequence of a breach by the administrator of his duties as an administrator.

Where a guarantee is given as required by subsection (1) the Court may, at any time, upon the application of any person interested in the estate or of its own motion on the report of the Principal Registrar —

require the surety or sureties to give such further or additional guarantee as the Court may direct and, if that further or additional guarantee is not given by the surety or sureties and the administrator does not produce another surety or other sureties, as the case may require, to give that further or additional guarantee, the Court may remove the administrator and appoint another in his place with power to sue or be sued upon any contract made by the removed administrator;

order that the liability of a surety under the guarantee be reduced to such amount as the Court in the circumstances of the case thinks reasonable.

For the purposes of this Act a further or additional guarantee given pursuant to subsection (2)(b) shall be deemed to be a guarantee given as required by subsection (1).

A guarantee given as required by subsection (1) shall enure for the benefit of every person interested in the administration of the estate of the deceased as if contained in a deed to which the surety or sureties and every such person are parties and, where there are 2 or more sureties, as if they had bound themselves jointly and severally.

Where a guarantee is given as required by subsection (1) an action on that guarantee —

shall not be brought without the leave of either the Court or the Principal Registrar;

may be brought only on such terms and conditions as the Court or the Principal Registrar thinks fit.

If, upon the application of a surety who has given a guarantee as required by subsection (1), it appears to the Court that —

the estate is being wasted, or is in danger of being wasted; or

the surety is being in any way prejudiced, or is in danger of being prejudiced, by the act or default of the person administering the estate; or

any surety desires to be relieved from further liability,

the Court may grant such relief as it thinks fit.

Subject to subsection (6), this section applies whenever administration is granted under any provision of this Act.

This section does not apply where administration is granted to the Public Trustee or in such other cases as may be prescribed by the rules.

[Section 26 inserted: No. 138 of 1976 s. 5; amended: No. 67 of 1979 s. 44.]

[27‑28. Deleted: No. 138 of 1976 s. 6.]