Succession Act 1965 section 20

Right of proving executors to exercise powers

Section 20 confirms that executors who have obtained probate can exercise the full powers of a personal representative, even if not all named executors have proved the will.

• Where a will names more than one executor, those who actually obtain probate can exercise all the powers of a personal representative without needing the others to join in.
• This applies regardless of whether the non-proving executors have had power reserved to them to prove the will at a later date.
• If some proving executors die, the surviving proving executor or executors continue to hold and exercise all the same powers.
• The rule applies to all estates, whether the testator died before or after the commencement of the Succession Act 1965.

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