Abeyawakdana vs Abeyadeera – clr volume 2 page 019

In the case between Henry Perera Abeyawardana, Don Andris Abeyadeera (as executor and guardian under the will), and the minor children of the late Simon Perera Abeyawardana, the court addressed whether an executor, solely tasked with administering and distributing a testator’s estate, is entitled under the Civil Procedure Code to a certificate of curatorship over the property of minor beneficiaries, and whether admissions of maladministration disqualify such an appointment. It was held that the executor is not automatically entitled to curatorship, especially where maladministration and a conflict of interest are established. The court reaffirmed the principle that, where there is no absolute entitlement, a fit and independent person must be appointed for the protection of minors’ interest