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Executor de Son Tort UK: When Intermeddling in an Estate Creates Personal Liability

Updated 31 May 2026 · 8 min read · Probate & Estate Administration

Dealing with a deceased person’s assets without legal authority can make you personally liable for their debts — even if you were trying to help. This is the doctrine of executor de son tort: ‘executor of his own wrong.’ It is one of the most overlooked traps in estate administration.

What Is an Executor de Son Tort?

An executor de son tort is a person who deals with the assets of a deceased person without being lawfully appointed as executor or administrator. By their actions, they assume the liabilities of an executor — without any of the corresponding powers or protections. The doctrine is codified in s.28 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 and has roots in medieval common law.

The trigger is intermeddling: taking, dealing with, or administering the deceased’s property in a way that only an authorised personal representative should. Once a person has intermeddled, creditors of the estate can sue them personally, and rightful beneficiaries can compel them to account for what they dealt with.

What Counts as Intermeddling?

Not every act related to the deceased’s affairs constitutes intermeddling. The courts draw a line between acts of ordinary management for immediate practical needs and acts that constitute estate administration:

Acts That Do Constitute Intermeddling

Acts That Do Not Constitute Intermeddling

Consequences of De Son Tort Liability

A person who becomes an executor de son tort faces serious consequences:

  1. Personal liability to creditors — the deceased’s creditors can sue them for the value of the assets they intermeddled with. Unlike a lawfully appointed executor, the de son tort executor cannot invoke the s.27 Trustee Act 1925 statutory advertisement procedure to limit creditor claims.
  2. Accountability to beneficiaries — beneficiaries can compel them to account for everything dealt with and restore the value to the estate.
  3. Liability to the lawful personal representative — once a grant is obtained, the executor or administrator can sue them for any loss caused by their premature dealings.
  4. No corresponding powers — they cannot exercise the statutory powers of an executor (s.39 AEA 1925 powers of management and sale) and cannot give valid receipts binding on beneficiaries.

Who Is Most at Risk?

In practice, de son tort liability most often arises for:

The risk is often greatest for people who are trying to be helpful. The safest rule is: do not deal with the deceased’s solely-owned assets until you have authority — either as named executor under the will (once you have the grant) or as administrator (once letters of administration are issued).

The Relation Back Doctrine

Where a named executor acts before obtaining probate, the relation back doctrine provides limited protection: once probate is granted, the executor’s title is said to relate back to the date of death. This means that some acts done before the grant — such as collecting rent or preserving assets — may be retrospectively validated.

However, the relation back doctrine does not apply to an administrator (whose title only runs from the grant) and does not retrospectively validate acts that caused actual loss to creditors or beneficiaries. It is not a licence for premature administration; it is a limited curative doctrine for acts done in good faith by a named executor.

FAQs

What is an executor de son tort?

An executor de son tort (from the French: 'executor of his own wrong') is a person who, without any legal authority to do so, intermeddles with the property of a deceased person and deals with it as if they were the appointed executor or administrator. The doctrine is ancient — it dates from medieval common law — and is confirmed in s.28 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925), which preserves it. A person becomes an executor de son tort not by formal appointment but by their actions: if they take, deal with, or administer the deceased's property in a manner that would be appropriate only for an authorised personal representative, they assume the same liabilities as a lawfully appointed executor. Those liabilities include accountability to creditors of the deceased and to rightful beneficiaries. Crucially, the person incurs the liabilities of an executor without having the corresponding powers or protections.

What acts constitute intermeddling and trigger de son tort liability?

Not every interaction with the deceased's property constitutes intermeddling. The courts distinguish between acts that are appropriate for anyone dealing with a deceased's immediate affairs and acts that constitute administration of the estate. Acts that constitute intermeddling and trigger de son tort liability include: (1) Selling or disposing of the deceased's personal property to a third party. (2) Collecting debts owed to the estate. (3) Paying the deceased's debts from estate assets without authority. (4) Operating or dealing with the deceased's bank accounts beyond immediate funeral or household needs. (5) Dealing with business assets or stock belonging to the deceased. (6) Distributing property to beneficiaries before a grant is obtained. Acts that do not constitute intermeddling and are specifically protected by statute: (1) Paying reasonable funeral expenses out of the deceased's money (s.1(1) AEA 1925 allows creditors and funeral expenses to be met out of estate assets without triggering de son tort liability). (2) Acts done under necessity for immediate preservation of the estate. (3) Finding, listing, and securing the estate's property pending a grant — as long as the person does not deal with the property.

What are the consequences of being an executor de son tort?

The primary consequences are: (1) Personal liability to the deceased's creditors — a creditor can sue the executor de son tort personally for the value of the assets they intermeddled with, to the extent of those assets. The de son tort executor cannot claim the limitation defences or protections available to a lawfully appointed executor (such as the s.27 Trustee Act 1925 statutory advertisement procedure). (2) Accountability to beneficiaries — rightful beneficiaries can compel the de son tort executor to account for any assets dealt with and to restore them (or their value) to the estate. (3) Liability to the rightful personal representative — the lawfully appointed executor or administrator can sue the de son tort executor for any loss to the estate caused by their intermeddling. (4) No corresponding powers — the de son tort executor cannot exercise the statutory powers of an executor (selling property, obtaining releases, issuing receipts that bind beneficiaries) and has no authority to deal with the estate beyond the acts already committed. The de son tort liability is proportionate to the acts committed: it does not extend to the whole estate, only to what was intermeddled with.

Who most commonly becomes an executor de son tort?

In practice, people most at risk of becoming executors de son tort are: (1) Surviving family members who pay the deceased's bills, cancel their contracts, or deal with their bank accounts before a grant of probate or letters of administration is obtained. (2) Business partners or employees who continue operating a deceased sole trader's business without authority. (3) Solicitors who hold client funds and deal with them after the client's death without checking that they have authority from the personal representative. (4) Surviving joint account holders who use a solely-owned account (not a joint account) for the deceased's expenses. (5) Trustees who deal with trust assets that include the deceased's estate property without waiting for the grant. The risk is that well-intentioned family members who try to be helpful — paying off the deceased's credit card from their savings account, selling their car — inadvertently assume executor liability without any of the protections.

How does an executor de son tort differ from a lawfully appointed executor?

The key differences are: (1) Authority: a lawfully appointed executor derives authority from the will (the testator's appointment) and from the grant of probate, which is the court's formal recognition of that authority. An executor de son tort has no authority — they have only liability. (2) Protections: a lawfully appointed executor can use the statutory advertisement procedure under s.27 Trustee Act 1925 to protect against unknown creditor claims; they can give valid receipts that bind beneficiaries; they can exercise statutory powers of sale and management. An executor de son tort has none of these protections or powers. (3) Scope of liability: a lawfully appointed executor is liable for the whole estate and can be personally liable if they distribute before paying debts. A de son tort executor's liability is limited to the assets they actually intermeddled with. (4) Discharge: a lawfully appointed executor is discharged from personal liability by obtaining releases or by court-approved accounts. An executor de son tort has no formal discharge mechanism — their liability persists until they account to the rightful personal representative.

How can you avoid becoming an executor de son tort?

Practical steps to avoid de son tort liability: (1) Do not deal with the deceased's solely-owned assets, bank accounts, or property until either (a) a grant of representation has been obtained, or (b) the asset is one that can be released without a grant (jointly held assets, small estate bank releases). (2) Paying the deceased's reasonable funeral expenses from estate funds is specifically protected and does not trigger de son tort liability. (3) Find, list, and secure the deceased's property — make an inventory — but do not sell, transfer, or deal with it until authority exists. (4) If you are named as executor in the will, apply for the grant promptly. Acting under the will before probate is obtained is risky (although there is a principle that an executor's title relates back to the date of death once probate is granted — the 'relation back' doctrine — this does not retrospectively validate acts that were de son tort at the time). (5) If you are not the executor (for example, you are a close family member but someone else is named in the will), do not administer the estate at all — refer creditors and matters to the named executor or administrator.

Make Your Executor’s Role Clear

A clear will with a named executor reduces the risk of family members inadvertently intermeddling in your estate — and ensures the right person has authority to act from the start. WillSafe’s DIY will kit for England and Wales helps you put a legally valid will in place today.

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