Malcolm Finney contrasts the capital gains tax treatment of asset disposals by the personal representatives and beneficiaries of a deceased individual’s estate.
Disposals by personal representatives (PRs) of assets in a deceased’s estate during the administration period may become necessary in order to fund, for example, the various debts and expenses of the estate, including the inheritance tax liability arising on the deceased’s estate.
The decision by the PRs as to which assets to sell is dependent upon the terms of the deceased’s will. In the absence of any such direction in the will, the PRs must adhere to the statutory order of application of assets set out in First Schedule, Part II of Administration of Estates Act 1925.
Asset sales by PRs or beneficiaries
During the estate administration, the PRs are the sole
