An elderly woman passed away last year and left her large estate to a few of her friends based on her valid will. She appointed her brother as the executor in her will. However, the brother is upset about the woman leaving most of her wealth to her friends and hasn't taken any steps to apply for a grant or administer the estate. It has been almost a year since the woman's death, and her friends are eager to see the estate administration progress.
What should the woman's friends do to ensure that the administration of the estate can progress smoothly?
An elderly woman passed away last year and left her large estate to a few of her friends based on her valid will. She appointed her brother as the executor in her will. However, the brother is upset about the woman leaving most of her wealth to her friends and hasn't taken any steps to apply for a grant or administer the estate. It has been almost a year since the woman's death, and her friends are eager to see the estate administration progress.
What should the woman's friends do to ensure that the administration of the estate can progress smoothly?
Seek a citation to accept or refuse a grant.
(D) The best course of action for the friends is to obtain a citation to accept or refuse a grant. This citation is used to clear any person, such as the woman's brother, who has a prior right to any type of grant, but has not applied for it and has no intention of doing so. If the brother still does not apply for the grant, one or more friends can apply for it instead.
Option (A) is incorrect as a caveat is used to halt the issuance of a grant, not force it.
Option (B) is not appropriate as the brother cannot be forced to act as the executor.
Option (C) is also incorrect as a citation to take probate is used when the named executor has lost their right to renounce probate by intervening in the estate's administration. However, in this case, the brother has not taken any steps regarding the estate administration, and hence, he has not lost the right to renounce probate.
Option (E) is also incorrect as the friends cannot seek a grant of probate themselves, as they are not the executors named in the will.