Re-swearing of a Will

[thewideeyedowl]

Why might a Will have to be re-sworn?

I have found, in the National Probate Calendar, that the Will of Robert Swanton MASTERS 1840-1880, of Glastonbury, was first sworn on 25 November 1880. His effects were 'under £500'. His sole executrix was his older sister Elizabeth MASTERS, c1833-1910. Robert was listed as 'grocer'. The Will was then re-sworn in March 1881, and this time the effects were listed as 'under £300'.

My guess is that there was an audit of the grocery shop/business and perhaps there was less stock than was at first thought. So had Elizabeth rushed into probate with unseemly haste?

Curious

Owl

[Peter Goodey]

perhaps there was less stock than was at first thought

Perhaps. Perhaps some debts surfaced.

So had Elizabeth rushed into probate with unseemly haste?

I wouldn't say so. You can't keep putting it off until you're certain about every penny.

[thewideeyedowl]

Thanks, Peter.

I do not know how/why he died. Obviously, that might hold a clue. I am not going to get the Death Certificate, I am afraid, because he is 'only' the brother of one of my great-great-grandmothers (great-great-great uncle?). As far as I know, he did not marry and there were no children. I had wondered, though, whether financial trouble had precipitated his death at just 40. Haven't found a bankruptcy listed in the London Gazette.

Thanks again.

Owl

[thewideeyedowl]

It looks as if something similar happened with another non-direct relative, but this time with a gap of almost 12 years:

Mary Annie EZARD, a spinster, died in a West Kirby nursing home on 7 January 1936. There was a Grant of Administration (limited) on 10 March 1936, to her sister-in-law and a Presbyterian minister; her effects were £1804 5s. (Nat Probate Calendar - Index of Wills & Administrations, 1936, p322.)

But then there was a second Grant of Administration on 16 January 1948, to her nephew; her effects were now £1612 19s 6d. The previous admin is mentioned as 'cessate' - presumably that means something like 'time expired' (?). (Nat Probate Calendar - Index of Wills & Administrations, 1948, p158.)

Might this have been a case of someone making a precipitate rush for a Grant of Administration? (Had meant to say in #1 that the first Probate was only two months after the man's death; and with the Grants of Administration, the first one is also only two months after the death.)

Owl

[Megan Roberts]

I think that "re-swearing" is more common that people think, For instance, suppose the bulk of an estate was in property, then its value is only ultimately determined when sold - so its possible to submit all documents for probate including a valuer's document stating that the property is worth say 100 units, but when its sold the market is only willing to pay 75 units, and so the executors might want to submit a reduced probate value in order to reduce taxation liabilities.

There are other instances where probate appears to be regranted decades later, and there it can quite often relate to transfer of leases or licences, which are transferred from the deceased to a beneficiary, but then have to retransferred when the original beneficiary dies.

I am sure that someone with a far better knowledge of probate law than I will correct any mistakes I might be making!

[Elwyn Soutter]

)

Might this have been a case of someone making a precipitate rush for a Grant of Administration? (Had meant to say in #1 that the first Probate was only two months after the man's death; and with the Grants of Administration, the first one is also only two months after the death.)

Owl

The administration date doesn’t mean that the estate was distributed that day, merely that the adminstrator(s) had been appointed.

A grant of administration means that the named person(s) have been authorised by the Probate Court to wind up the estate. It could take months or even years in some cases to complete the task. I don’t think there’s anything premature about a grant of administration 2 months after death. That seems about normal.

[thewideeyedowl]

Thank you to you both for helping with this. I simply had not realised that there would be a (possibly very long) time between the Grant of Probate/Administration and the final winding-up and distribution of the deceased's estate.

In the first example (Robert Swanton Masters, the grocer) the re-swearing was probably to do with a re-valuation following the sale of stock/assets relating to the business.

The second (Mary Annie Ezard) is more curious. I do not know whether property was involved, but WW2 came along and - possibly - added another six years to the timescale. The initial Grant of Administration was made to her sister-in-law, then 51, who lived in West Kirby and was still alive in 1948. The second Grant was made to her only nephew (sister-in-law's son/my father) who was then 25. Both sister-in-law and nephew had moved to Somerset in the late 1930s and lost contact with West Kirby. So did he have to go back to bring the curtain down on his aunt's affairs? (I cannot ask him, because he died a few years ago.)

Next on my to-do list, but after Christmas, is to buy a copy of the will of Joseph EZARD (Mary Annie's father). He was a Master Builder and built some of the big houses in Hoylake and West Kirby. But what happened to his money??? I'd like to find out... (It did not cascade down the generations!)

Owl