Executor and Administrator Fraud in Jamaican Estate Sales: When the Person Selling Is Not Authorised to Sell

• Only a court-granted executor or administrator can legally sell a deceased person’s property.
• A grant of probate or letters of administration from the Supreme Court is the required authority.
• Family members who sell estate property without a grant are acting without legal authority.
• Buyers should require sight of the original grant and verify it with the probate registry before completing.
• A transaction completed with an unauthorised seller may be voidable by the legitimate estate beneficiaries.

When a property owner dies in Jamaica, their real property forms part of their estate and cannot be sold by any individual without legal authority to administer the estate. That authority comes from the Supreme Court in the form of a grant of probate (where there is a will naming an executor) or letters of administration (where there is no will, or where the named executor cannot act). Until such a grant is issued, no person — not even a surviving spouse, child, or named beneficiary — has the legal right to sell the deceased’s property.

Executor and administrator fraud takes several forms. The most common involves family members who, in the absence of a formal grant, sell a deceased relative’s property and pocket the proceeds without distributing them to other beneficiaries. In some cases, the seller presents themselves as having authority by producing a will that names them as executor, without disclosing that probate has never been granted. More sophisticated frauds involve forged grants of probate or letters of administration — documents that appear to confer legal authority but are fabricated. A buyer who completes on the basis of a forged grant has not acquired good title and may face a claim from the legitimate beneficiaries of the estate.

How Buyers Can Verify Authority to Sell

When purchasing property from a seller who is acting as executor or administrator of a deceased person’s estate, the buyer should require the seller to produce the original grant of probate or letters of administration. The buyer’s attorney should verify the grant with the Probate Registry of the Supreme Court of Jamaica before completion and should confirm that the property being sold is listed in the estate inventory. Beneficiaries who suspect that an executor or administrator has sold estate property without authority or has failed to account for proceeds should seek legal advice as a matter of urgency. The Administrator General’s Department also administers estates in certain circumstances; its remit is described at megid.gov.jm.