Hong Kong Ordinances

TRUSTEE ORDINANCE - SECT 83

Trust company to apply for probate or administration

(1) If and whenever any person shall be entitled to apply for probate of the
will of any testator without leave being reserved to any other person to apply
for probate, it shall be lawful for such person, whether absent from Hong Kong
or not, and notwithstanding the provisions of any other enactment, instead of
himself applying for such probate, to authorize a trust company to apply to
the court for a grant of administration with the will annexed of the estate of
such testator, and such grant may be made to the trust company upon its own
application, when so authorized, but the provisions of this section shall not
apply to any case in which a will provides that a company shall not act as
executor or in the trusts thereof. (Amended 9 of 1993 s. 7)

(2) If and whenever any person shall be entitled to apply for letters of
administration with the will of any testator annexed of the estate of such
testator, it shall be lawful for such person, whether absent from Hong Kong or
not, and notwithstanding the provisions of any other enactment, to authorize a
trust company, either alone, or jointly with any other person, to apply to the
court for a grant of letters of administration with the will annexed of the
estate of such testator, and such grant may be made to the company upon its
own application when so authorized, but the provisions of this section shall
not apply to a case in which a will provides that a company shall not act as
executor, or in the trusts thereof. (Amended 9 of 1993 s. 7)

(3) It shall be lawful for any person or persons entitled to apply for
administration of the estate of any intestate, whether such person or persons
be absent from Hong Kong or not, and notwithstanding the provisions of any
other enactment, to authorize a trust company to apply to the court for such
letters of administration, either alone or jointly with any other person, and
administration of the estate of any such intestate may be granted to the
company either alone or jointly as aforesaid, upon its own application, when
so authorized. (Amended 9 of 1993 s. 7)

(4) For the purposes of any application to the court for letters of
administration to the estate of any deceased person, the court shall consider
a trust company, when authorized as aforesaid, to be in law entitled, equally
with any other person or class of persons to apply for and obtain a grant, but
a trust company, being so entitled, shall not on that account alone, be
preferred to the widower, widow, or next-of-kin of any intestate.

(5) No grant of probate or of letters of administration shall be granted to a
syndic or nominee on behalf of a trust company.

(6) Where any person entitled to apply for probate or letters of
administration has authorized a trust company to apply for a grant in favour
of the company under subsection (1) or (2) and the court has subsequently made
such a grant, all property, functions, powers, authorities, discretions and
rights vested in or conferred on that person by the will or by law shall, on
the making of the grant and without conveyance or assignment or the execution
of any other instrument, become vested in and exercisable by the company as
fully and effectually as if it had been named as executor under the will.
(Added 23 of 1975 s.4)