The High Court has appointed solicitor Jim Trueick as administrator of Siobhán O’Callaghan’s estate for the limited purpose of taking steps to obtain a grant and realise estate assets. The court also allowed him to seek a separate grant to bring or defend proceedings concerning solicitor Tom Brabazon’s claim against the estate. No distribution can be made without a further court order.
The ruling was made by Ms Justice Baker in the non-contentious Probate List under section 27(4) of the Succession Act 1965. The application was brought by James Byrne, a judgment creditor of Kevin McKeever, the executor named in O’Callaghan’s 2006 will and the residuary beneficiary. The judge did not remove McKeever permanently or decide the validity or priority of Brabazon’s claim.
Byrne had obtained judgment against McKeever in October 2014 for €663,824, with interest. Byrne said the sum due had reached €1,183,223.30 by May 2016 and that McKeever’s inheritance was the main source from which the judgment might be paid. The judgment arose after Byrne said he paid McKeever €632,914.90 for Dubai properties that were not conveyed to him. The court recounted these matters as background to Byrne’s application.
A receiver had already been appointed over so much of McKeever’s entitlement in the estate as would satisfy Byrne’s judgment and costs. But Justice Baker said Byrne was a creditor of McKeever, not of the estate, and had no interest in the estate itself. She also rejected the suggestion that McKeever had no beneficial interest under the will.
The judge identified two immediate difficulties. Medical reports and an email indicated McKeever was suffering from severe hypertension and was not then able to give instructions needed to administer the estate. Separately, Brabazon had asserted a lien over estate papers and said the estate owed him fees connected with McKeever’s criminal defence. The judge said that claim had to be determined before the estate’s net value could be established; she did not rule on whether the lien was legally valid or the fees were owed by the estate.
Justice Baker said the appointment was not based on a finding that McKeever was in conflict with the estate or had unduly delayed obtaining a grant. It was made because he was not then in a position to take the steps required to administer the estate and because Brabazon’s claim needed resolution before further distribution.
Trueick’s authority is limited. He may take steps to obtain the grant and deal with estate assets by sale or otherwise to realise them, while respecting McKeever’s accommodation needs as far as possible. He may seek an administration grant for proceedings concerning Brabazon’s claim. The order leaves open the possibility that McKeever could receive a grant later, depending on how the administration concludes.