Article on Non-Grant of ‘Letters of Administration’ Where ‘Suit for Partition’ is the Efficacious Remedy

Shivam Goel recently published an Article entitled, Non-Grant of ‘Letters of Administration’ Where ‘Suit for Partition’ is the Efficacious Remedy, Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law eJournal (2018). Provided below is an abstract of the Article.

The scope of an administration suit is to collect the assets of the deceased to pay off the debts and other charges and to find out what is the residue of the estate available for distribution amongst the heirs of the deceased. A suit for partition is distinct from an administration suit. Though administration of the estate may ultimately after accounts are taken also entail ‘partition’, but where it is found that there is no need for administration and what is in effect sought is partition only, the court is entitled in exercise of discretion under Section 298 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘ISA’) to refuse the grant of Letters of Administration and to relegate the parties to the remedy of partition.