Short answer. Yes. When the executor or administrator dies and a new one is appointed for the same estate, the court may extend the time for paying debts or legacies beyond what was originally allowed, up to six months at a time, after notice and hearing on the extension.
What the law says
When an executor or administrator dies, and a new administrator of the same estate is appointed, the court may extend the time allowed for the payment of the debts or legacies beyond the time allowed to the original executor or administrator, not exceeding six months at a time and not exceeding six months beyond the time which the court might have allowed to such original executor or administrator; and notice shall be given of the time and place for hearing such application, as required in the last preceding section.
Rule 88, Section 16 — Successor of dead executor or administrator may have time extended on notice within certain period. Read the full provision →
Death of the administrator doesn't freeze the deadline
An estate does not simply stall out because its administrator died mid-way through paying debts. Where the executor or administrator dies and a new administrator is appointed for the same estate, the court is given authority to extend the time originally allowed for paying the debts or legacies, recognizing that the transition itself takes time to manage. A successor needs time to review what the prior administrator had already done before continuing the work of settling the estate's obligations.
The extension has real limits
The court's power to extend is capped, not open-ended: it may not exceed six months at a time, and the total extension may not exceed six months beyond what the court could have allowed the original executor or administrator, so the estate's creditors are not left waiting indefinitely for payment. A new administrator can seek successive extensions within those caps if more time is genuinely needed.
Notice and hearing still required
This extension is not granted automatically just because a new administrator has stepped in; notice must be given of the time and place for hearing the application for it, in the same manner already required elsewhere in this rule, so interested parties get a chance to weigh in before the new deadline is set. Creditors and heirs affected by a further delay in payment therefore have an opportunity to be heard on whether the extension is actually warranted.
Why this provision exists apart from the general extension rule
The change of administrator is treated as its own distinct ground for extending the payment deadline, separate from whatever extension the original administrator might have obtained. That recognizes that a successor administrator often needs to reconstruct the state of the estate's affairs before resuming payments, a task the original administrator would not have faced in the same way, and the rule builds that adjustment period into the timeline rather than expecting an immediate handoff.
Related provisions
- Rule 88, Section 16 — Successor of dead executor or administrator may have time extended on notice within certain period
- Rule 88, Section 14 — Creditors to be paid in accordance with terms of order