MARTINEZ, Alexis Paula

2011035909
4LM3

Administrators, Special Administrators, Executors and Trustees ---
Bonds; Powers and Duties; Accountabilities and Actions
to be filed against them
Special Administrators
When there is delay in granting letters testamentary or of administration by
any cause including an appeal from the allowance or disallowance of a will, the
court may appoint a special administrator to take possession and charge of the
estate of the deceased until the questions causing the delay are decided and
executors or administrators appointed.
1

Under the above rule, the probate court may appoint a special administrator should
there be a delay in granting letters testamentary and of administration occasioned
by any cause including an appeal from the allowance or disallowance of a will.
Subject to this qualification, the appointment of a special administrator lies in the
discretion of the Court. This discretion, however, must be sound, that is not
whimsical, or contrary to reason, justice, equity or legal principle. Since the
appointment of a special administrator is within the discretion of the probate court,
the order appointing such special administrator is not appealable.
2

Goods, chattels, rights, credits, and estate of the decedent shall be in the special
administrators possession and care.
3
He shall preserve the properties until an
executor or administer has been appointed. It is not alone the specific property
which is to be preserved but its value as well.
4
He may sell perishable and

1
Rule 80, Sec. 1, Rules of Court.
2
Pijuan vs. Viuda de Gurrea, 18 SCRA 898 (1966).
3
Rule 80, Sec. 2, Rules of Court.
4
Anderson vs. Perkins, 1 SCRA 387, (1961).
properties ordered by the court and shall not be liable to pay any debts of the
deceased unless so ordered.
A special administrator is required to pay a bond before he is allowed to exercise
his right to administer the estate of the decedent. He shall submit an inventory of
trusts that the court has assigned to him, he shall list all the accounts that he will
receive and shall pass all these data to the next administrator or executor or any
person that will be appointed by the court.
The removal, as the appointment, of a special administrator, is an interlocutory
matter incidental to the main case and lies in the sound discretion of the probate
court.
5
Powers of a special administrator shall cease once letters testamentary or
of administration on the decedents estate have been granted.
6
Properties of the
decedent, which were in his possession, shall be handed to the newly appointed
executor or administrator. The executor or administrator, then, may prosecute to
final judgment.
Executors and Administrators
An executor is appointed through a letter of testamentary wherein the deceased
person itself names him. He/She is required to act in a fiduciary capacity - he or
she must perform the executor's duties exclusively in the best interests of the
estate. The court expects a high degree of diligence, honesty and impartiality.
He/She must also be competent and must accept and give a bond to the court for
him/her to be able to administer the properties and rights of the decedent.
On the other hand, the appointment of an administrator is by a letter of
administration. The court issues it to a competent person to administer the
properties and rights of the decedent.


5
Alcasid vs. Samson, 102 Phil. 735 (1956).
6
Rule 80, Sec 3, Rules of Court.
Bond of Executors and Administrators
An executor or administrator is required to pay for him to be able to exercise his
right to administer. The amount to be paid by the executor or administrator
depends on the Courts decision.
The executor or administrator shall make a complete inventory of all goods,
chattels, rights, credits and estate of the deceased, within three months, which
shall come to his possession. He must also administer, in accordance to the will of
the testator, all goods, chattels, rights, credits, and estate which shall at any time
come to his possession or to the possession of any other person for him, and from
the proceeds to pay and discharge all debts, legacies, and charges on the same,
or such dividends thereon as shall be decreed by the court and shall render a true
and just account of his administration to the court within one year, and at any
other.
7

When two or more persons are appointed executors or administrators the court
may take a separate bond from each, or a joint bond from all.
8

Failure to pay the bonds directed by the court will be a reason for disqualification of
the chosen Administrator or Executor.
Termination or Removal of Executors or Administrators
An executor or administrator may be removed from his duty or be permitted to
resign on the following grounds:
(1) Where the executor or administrator neglects to render his account;
(2) Neglects to settle the estate according to law;
(3) Neglects to perform an order or judgment of the court, or a duty expressly
provided by these rules;

7
Rule 81, Sec 1, Rules of Court.
8
Rule 81, Sec 3, Rules of Court.
(4) Where he absconds;
(5) Where he becomes insane, or otherwise incapable or unsuitable to
discharge the trust.
The power of the judge to declare ineffective the appointment of an administrator,
who obtained his appointment by false representation, is indisputable.
9

When an executor or administrator dies, resign, or is removed, the remaining
executor or administrator may administer the trust alone, unless the court grants
letters to someone to act with him. If there is no remaining executor or
administrator, administration may be to any suitable person.
The lawful acts of an executor or administrator before the revocation of his letters
testamentary or of administration, or before his resignation or removal, shall have
the like validity as if there had been no such revocation, resignation, or removal.
10

The effect of revocation of letters testamentary or of administration is to terminate
the authority of the executor of administrator, but the acts of the executor or
administrator done in good faith prior to the revocation of the letters will be
extended to the rights acquired under a previous grant of administration.
General Powers and Duties of Executors and Administrators
The executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased partner shall at all times
have access to, and may examine and take copies of, books and papers relating to
the partnership business, examine and make invoices of the property belonging to
such partnership. He/She must secure not only the property but also its value.
He/She must maintain the properties in good condition and deliver the same to the
decedents heirs. He/She has the power of administering the estate of the decease
for purposes of liquidation and distribution. He or she may, therefore, exercise all
acts of administration without special authority of the court.

9
Cabarrubias vs. Dizon, 76 Phil 209.
10
Rule 82, Sec 2, Rule of Courts.
Accountability and Compensation of Executors and Administrators
The executor or administrator is accountable for the whole of the estate of the
deceased which has come into his possession. If he failed to take possession
through his fault, through negligence, wherein no action has been brought for
recovery, he/she shall be accountable for the property lost. He/she is accountable
for the correct and complete inventory not only of all the property of the estate
which has come into his possession, but also of all the property which has come
into his knowledge.
The Executor or Administrator shall not profit by the increase of the estate and
shall not be held liable for the decrease which the estate, without his fault, might
have sustained. He/She is not liable for loss, by fortuitous event, a property
belonging to the decendent, in the absence of proof of his negligence.
The executor or administrator is accountable on his/her bond along with his
sureties for a good and true inventory of all the property of the estate which has
come into his possession, but also of all the property which has come into his
knowledge, including the interest, profit, and income thereof, and with the proceeds
of so much estate as is sold by him at the price at which it was sold.
11

The Executor or Administrator shall not be accountable for the uncollected debts
due the deceased without his fault.
The Executor or Administrator is entitled to the necessary reimbursement of the
expenses in the care, management and settlement of the estate and four pesos
per day for his service or a commission.



11
De Guzman v Carillo, 4 Philajur 266.
Actions By and Against Executors and Administrators
No action upon a claim for the recovery of money or debt or interest thereon shall
be commenced against the executor or administrator; but to recover real or
personal property, or an interest therein, from the estate, or to enforce a lien
thereon, and actions to recover damages for an injury to person or property, real or
personal, may be commenced against him.
12

Except actions against the decedents estate for the recovery of money or debt or
interest, which shall be presented in the form of claims in the estate or intestate
proceeding, all other actions affecting the property or rights of the decedent may be
commenced and prosecuted against the executor or administrator of the deceased.
An executor or administrator may bring or defend, for the recovery of the property
or rights of the deceased, actions for causes which survived.
With the Courts approval, he/she may compound with the debtor of the deceased
for a debt due.
He/She may also foreclose a mortgage belonging to the estate of the deceased
person.
All persons who come into possession of a property belonging to any decedent are
liable and accountable to the lawful administrator when the estate is finally drawn
into judicial administration.
13





12
Rule 87, Sec. 1, Rules of Court.
13
Lopez vs Garcia 40 Phil 184
Definition of Terms

Administrator - the person appointed by the court to handle the estate of someone
who died without a will, with a will but no nominated executor, or the executor
named in the will has died, has been removed from the case or does not desire to
serve.

Bond - a written guaranty or pledge, which is purchased from a bonding company
or by an individual as security to guarantee some form of performance, including
showing up in court.

Executor - the person appointed to administer the estate of a person who has died
leaving a will, which nominates that person. Unless there is a valid objection, the
judge will appoint the person named in the will to be executor.

Special Administrator - a person appointed by the court in a probate proceeding to
take charge of the assets and/or investigate the status of the estate and report to
the court, until the testamentary letters have been finally granted and an executor
or regular administrator has been appointed.

Trustee - a person or entity who holds the assets of a trustor for the benefit of the
beneficiaries and manages the trust and its assets under the terms of the trust
stated in the declaration of trust which created it.








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