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Apply to the High Court under section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985. Grounds include refusal to act, incapacity, misconduct, or deadlock. Where the co-executor has simply not engaged, a citation under the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 is the cheaper route. The court can appoint a substitute personal representative, or — where there are two or more — end the appointment of one but not all. This guide describes England and Wales.
Executors are expected to work cooperatively towards the efficient administration of the estate. In practice, disputes between co-executors are not uncommon — particularly in family estates where personal grief, pre-existing conflict, or disagreements about the will's interpretation can make working together difficult.
Removal is a serious step and the court will not order it lightly. The welfare of the estate and its beneficiaries is paramount — the court asks whether removal is necessary to ensure the estate is properly administered. The personal feelings of those involved are secondary.
Common situations where removal is sought:
Before going to court, send a formal letter (recorded delivery) to the co-executor setting out the problem, what action you require, and a deadline (typically 14 to 30 days). This creates a paper trail and demonstrates to any subsequent court that you attempted resolution first.
If the co-executor has not formally accepted or refused their role, you can cite them under rules 46 and 47 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987. There is no PA-numbered form for this: a citation issues from the Principal Registry or a district probate registry, is settled by a district judge or registrar before it is issued, and must normally be served personally. It may be issued at the instance of anyone who would themselves be entitled to a grant if the person cited renounced.
The person cited has eight days from service, inclusive of the day of service, to enter an appearance. If that period expires without one, the citor may apply for a grant to themselves — an application, not an automatic consequence. Rule 47(3) also covers the executor who has intermeddled: any person interested in the estate may, more than six months after the death, cite them to show cause why they should not be ordered to take a grant. So a citation is not limited to the executor who has done nothing; what it cannot do is get an unwilling executor out.
Where the dispute is about substantive disagreements rather than simple inaction, mediation can resolve the matter more quickly and cheaply than court. Mediators are an unregulated market and no official body publishes their rates, so ask for a quote. Courts expect parties to consider mediation before litigating, and an unreasonable refusal can be reflected in a costs order.
Section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 gives the High Court a discretionary power, on the application of a personal representative or a beneficiary, to appoint a substitute personal representative in place of an existing one — or, where there are two or more existing personal representatives, to terminate the appointment of one or more but not all of them. Note the limit in section 50(1)(b): the court cannot simply remove the only personal representative and leave the estate with none; it substitutes instead.
CPR 57.13 requires these claims to be brought in the High Court, where they are assigned to the Chancery Division. Every personal representative of the estate must be joined as a party, and the grant of probate or letters of administration has to be lodged with the court. You will need to file:
Court fee: this is a non-money claim, fee 1.5 on the EX50 fee list, which is £663 in the High Court on the current list. It is a flat fee and does not scale with the value of the estate. No official body publishes what solicitors charge for a section 50 application, so treat any range you see quoted elsewhere as somebody's estimate.
The court will typically list the matter for a hearing. If the grounds are clear (e.g. medical evidence of incapacity, or clear evidence of misconduct), the application may be dealt with on paper. Contested applications can take six months or more to resolve.
The general rule is that costs follow the event — the losing party pays. Where a co-executor is removed for misconduct or wilful refusal to act, costs are often ordered against them personally. Where removal is ordered because of circumstances beyond the executor's control (e.g. incapacity), costs may be borne by the estate.
Where the dispute is between co-executors who are both acting in good faith, the court may order each party to bear their own costs.
The court order may either end the appointment of the executor concerned, leaving the remaining co-executors to carry on, or appoint a substitute. A substitute appointed alongside an executor becomes an executor from the date of appointment; in any other case they become an administrator. Section 50(3) also lets the court authorise a substituted personal representative to charge remuneration on such terms as it thinks fit. The substitute may be another individual proposed by the applicant, a solicitor, or a trust corporation.
Once the removed executor is no longer acting, the administration continues. Follow our estate administration checklist and executor timeline to get back on track.
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