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Administration and Probate Act 1969
80Powers of executors and administrators as to sale, mortgage,
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80 Powers of executors and administrators as to sale, mortgage,
or lease of real estate
(1) Subject to this section, executors and administrators may, without
the consent of any person or the order of a court:
(a) sell or mortgage the real estate of the deceased person for
purposes of administration;
(b) sell the real estate of the deceased person as to which he or
she died intestate, for purposes of distribution or division
amongst the persons entitled;
(c) lease the real estate of the deceased person in possession for
any term not exceeding 3 years; or
(d) subject to subsection (4), raise, on the security of the whole or
any part of the intestate estate of the deceased person, any
sum required by the executors or administrators for the
purpose of paying to the spouse or de facto partner of the
person the share, or a part of the share, of the spouse in the
intestate estate of the person.
Administration and Probate Act 1969 36
(2) Any conditions may be imposed on the exercise of any such power
of sale, mortgage, lease or raising of any sum by an administrator,
and either generally or in the case of a particular sale, mortgage,
lease or raising of any sum, by Rules of Court, or by the Court in
the grant of administration (if any), or by other order.
(3) The Registrar shall write on the letters of administration, and on any
copy of the letters of administration issued by him or her, a certified
copy of any conditions imposed by the Court under subsection (2).
(4) The power conferred by subsection (1)(d) on the executors or
administrators of a deceased person is exercisable only in a case
where the deceased person is an intestate for the purposes of
Division 4.
(5) In this section, the intestate estate, in relation to a person who is
an intestate for the purposes of Division 4, has the same meaning
as in that Division.
(6) A purchaser, mortgagee, lessee or other person who for valuable
consideration acquires an interest in the estate of a deceased
person, or the Registrar-General or other person registering title
under any sale, mortgage or lease under this section, is not bound
to inquire whether the powers mentioned in subsection (1) or any of
them are being or have been exercised for the purposes specified
in that subsection, and the receipt of the executor or administrator
shall be a sufficient discharge, and shall exonerate the persons
paying the moneys from any responsibility for the application of the
moneys expressed to have been so received.
(7) Some or one only of several executors or administrators shall be
entitled to exercise those powers with the leave of the Court, and
not otherwise, and the Court may make such orders as it thinks fit
for the purpose of carrying out any such sale, mortgage, lease or
raising of any sum.