Ware v. McKeithan
No. M2008-01332-COA-R9-CV; 2009 Tenn. App. LEXIS 302
In Ware, the Court of Appeals reversed the Probate Court’s allowance of a beneficiary’s intervention in the estate administrator’s suit to recover estate assets misappropriated by a third party. The Court of Appeals held that so long as a beneficiary’s interest is adequately represented by the administrator of a decedent’s estate, intervention is not permissible. The Court of Appeal’s further held that an administrator of an estate has the exclusive right and duty to pursue the recovery of misappropriated assets and the discretion to determine which claims are to be pursued and to what extent they should be pursued. It is important for the beneficiary of an estate to timely inquire as to the personal representative's intent to pursue (or not pursue) recovery of allegedly misappropriated funds. If the personal representative elects not to pursue recovery, over the objection of the beneficiary, the beneficiary has the option of seeking removal of the personal representative.
