Administration of estates

The court had jurisdiction to appoint a receiver in relation to an estate where there was no current representative. That jurisdiction was conferred by s 37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981. A typical case where the jurisdiction was appropriate to be exercised was where the estate was entitled to an income but, in the absence of the receiver, there was no-one to collect it. Alternatively, the estate had liabilities which needed to be serviced on a continuing basis and if there was neglect in that respect, then a third party could claim a forfeiture or enforce a security depriving the estate permanently of a valuable asset.