ABSTRACT
In English law, the process of dealing with the estate of a deceased person involves three stages. First, a grant of representation must be obtained by the persons who are to undertake that process. Secondly, the personal representative to whom a grant has been made must proceed with the administration of the estate in the strict sense of that term. Thirdly, the personal representative will distribute the surplus remaining to those entitled under the rules of intestate succession or the deceased's will or a combination of those rules and the will. It may also be possible for a foreign administrator to take advantage of the Administration of Estates Act. The rule that a foreign personal representative cannot sue or be sued in England appears to be derived from the principle of territorial ism which underlies the administration of estates in the common law. The potential expense of contentious administration is likely to be a strong incentive to reach a settlement.
