Short answer. As soon as the time of payment set in the distribution order arrives, the executor or administrator must pay the creditors their claim amounts, or the applicable dividend, exactly in accordance with that order's terms, without further delay once the order's own schedule kicks in.
What the law says
When an order is made for the distribution of assets among the creditors, the executor or administrator shall, as soon as the time of payment arrives, pay the creditors the amounts of their claims, or the dividend thereon, in accordance with the terms of such order.
Rule 88, Section 14 — Creditors to be paid in accordance with terms of order. Read the full provision →
Payment tied to the order's own timeline
Once a distribution order is issued, the executor or administrator does not get further discretion over when to actually pay. As soon as the time of payment fixed by the order arrives, payment must be made, tying the administrator's conduct directly to the schedule the court itself has already set. There is no separate step where the administrator re-evaluates the order or waits for a further prompt from the court or the creditors; the order's own stated timeline is what triggers the obligation to pay.
Full claim or dividend, per the order's terms
What gets paid is the amounts of the creditors' claims, or the applicable dividend where the estate cannot cover every claim in full, and that payment must follow the terms of the order exactly, so the administrator cannot depart from the sequence or proportions the court has already fixed in advance. Whether a creditor receives the full claim amount or only a proportional dividend depends entirely on how the underlying distribution order characterized that creditor's entitlement, not on any later judgment call by the administrator. The obligation binds the executor or administrator personally in that office, and it runs to every creditor named in the order, not merely to whichever creditor happens to press for payment first.
No discretion to delay or deviate
Because the section ties payment directly to the order's own schedule and terms, an administrator who delays payment after the fixed time arrives, or who pays creditors in a different sequence or proportion than the order specifies, is acting outside the authority the order actually grants. The administrator's role at this stage is essentially ministerial — carrying out a distribution the court has already decided upon — rather than exercising independent judgment over who gets paid, how much, or when. This matters for accountability: because the order fixes the timeline and terms in advance, any creditor who is not paid once the order's own schedule arrives has a clear, objective basis for going back to the court, rather than having to guess whether the administrator's delay was somehow justified.
Related provisions
- Rule 88, Section 14 — Creditors to be paid in accordance with terms of order
- Rule 88, Section 13 — When subsequent distribution of assets ordered