LEGAL PRINCIPLE: ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES — Personal Representatives — Concurrence of All Representatives Required for Valid Conveyance of Real Estate
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Concurrence means the agreement or consent of all personal representatives in the conveyance of real estate. Evidence of concurrence can be manifested by execution by all, but is not limited to that. If all agree, one or some can validly execute. Without concurrence of all, such conveyance is valid only with court order.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Edozie, JSC, in Ibrahim v. Ojomo & Ors (2004) NLC-2492000(SC) at pp. 11–12; Paras D–B.
"Where as respects real estate there are two or more personal representatives, a conveyance of real estate devolving under this Part of this Law shall not, save as otherwise provided as respects trust estates, be made without concurrence therein of all such representatives or an order of the court ... The expression 'concurrence therein' appearing in subsection 4(2) of the Administration of Estates Law Cap. 2, Laws of Lagos State (supra) means the agreement or consent of all the personal representatives in the conveyance of the real estate of the deceased. Evidence of such concurrence can be manifested by the execution of the conveyance by all the personal representatives but it is not limited to that. Where there are several personal representatives and they are all in agreement that the deceased's real estate vested in them should be disposed or alienated, one or some of them can validly execute a conveyance in that regard but if there was no concurrence of all of them such a conveyance executed by one or some of them can only be valid with order of court."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
All personal representatives must concur in conveyance of real estate, evidenced by agreement or consent. Execution by all is evidence, but not the only evidence, of concurrence. If all agree, one or some may validly execute the conveyance. Without concurrence, a court order is required. The principle applies to administration of estates. The rule ensures collective decision-making by representatives.
