Legal News | 29.01.26

Estate administration uncooperative beneficiaries

The recent High Court decision in Lowe v Daniells [2025] EWHC 3297 (Ch) provides valuable guidance for personal representatives (PRs) who are faced with missing or unresponsive beneficiaries. In the world of estate administration, missing or unresponsive heirs can present significant difficulties for PRs who are tasked with collecting and distributing a deceased’s estate.

Lowe v Daniells concerned a beneficiary who was entitled to the residue of her grandmother’s estate but refused to cooperate with the estate’s administrator. Multiple attempts were made to contact the beneficiary without success, including requests for the beneficiary to confirm in writing that she did not wish to inherit the estate owed to her. The Court in Lowe v Daniells was asked to assess whether the conduct of the beneficiary amounted to a disclaimer of her interest, in order that the estate administration could be finalised and assets distributed to substitute beneficiaries.

The legacy of Re Benjamin [1902] 1 Ch 723

Whilst the Court did not wish to decide whether the beneficiary had disclaimed her interest, a pragmatic solution was still found. The Court made an Order enabling the estate property to be distributed to the substitute beneficiaries but without extinguishing the granddaughter’s rights to claim against those beneficiaries if she wished in future (however unlikely given her conduct up until that point). Such Orders, commonly known as Benjamin Orders after the 1902 case cited above, can protect personal representatives from personal liability if faced with distributing an estate in such problematic circumstances.

Courts do not, however, grant such Orders lightly and they can be expensive and time-consuming to obtain. Many personal representatives turn to ‘missing beneficiary indemnity insurance’ to protect their personal position, particularly where estates are less valuable.

If you are the personal representative of an estate and require advice in respect of its administration, please contact the Private Client team at Wansbroughs: wealth@wansbroughs.com.