- Claims under section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 for the removal of personal representatives: procedure and evidence.
Section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 (AJA 1985) gives the High Court jurisdiction to remove or replace personal representatives where this is necessary in the interests of the welfare of the beneficiaries and the proper administration of the estate.
The jurisdiction has proved to be a fecund source of litigation and the sphere of operation of AJA 1985, s 50 was increased by the decision in Goodman v Goodman [2013] EWHC 758 (Ch), where Newey J confirmed that it could be employed to seek the removal of a named executor (though not a potential administrator) who had not yet obtained a grant of probate.
There was, initially, a striking dearth of reported authority on the operation of the section. Fortunately, that situation has been remedied in recent years and there is a growing body of case law which addresses both the procedural and the substantive operation
