(a) The Superior Court of Guam shall appoint an administrator with the will annexed in the first instance, and shall grant to such appointee letters of administration with the will annexed upon proper petition therefor, when a decedent‘s will has been duly proved and:

(1) No executor is named in the will; or

(2) The sole executor or all the executors named in the will are dead; or
(3) The sole executor or all the executors named in the will are incompetent to execute the trust under the provisions of Section
1701 of this Title; or
(4) The sole executor or all the executors named in the will fail to apply for letters testamentary; or
(5) The sole executor or all the executors named in the will fail to appear and qualify at the hearing provided in Section 1515 of this Title; or
(6) The Superior Court of Guam determines, following the hearing referred to in Section 1723(a) of this Title, that letters testamentary shall not be granted to the persons named in the will as executors, or to any of them.

COL120106
15 Guam Code Ann. ESTATES AND PROBATE
CH. 17 APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTORS AND OF
ADMINISTRATORS WITH THE WILL ANNEXED
(b) Persons are entitled to appointment as administrators with the will annexed in the same order of priority as in the appointment of administrators; provided, that one who takes under the will has priority over one who does not, and need not be entitled to succeed to the estate or some portion thereof under the law of succession; and provided further, that notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection, letters of administration with the will annexed may be granted to one or more competent persons who are not otherwise entitled to appointment as a matter of priority, upon the written request filed with the Superior Court of Guam by a resident of Guam who takes more than fifty percent (50%) of the value of the estate under the will.

(c) Administrators with the will annexed have the same authority over estates which executors named in the will would have had, and their acts are as effectual for all purposes; but if a power or authority conferred upon an executor is discretionary, and is not conferred by law, it shall not be deemed to be conferred upon an administrator with the will annexed.

(d) The provisions of Sections 1701, 1709, 1711, 1713 and 1715 shall apply to administrators with the will annexed with the same force and effect as those provisions apply to executors.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this Section, the Superior Court of Guam may also grant letters of administration with the will annexed pursuant to the applicable provisions of Chapter 21 of this Title.

SOURCE: Subsection (a): Guam Law Revision Commission. Subsections (b) and (c): California Probate Code, § 409 (as amended). Subsections (d) and (e): Guam Law Revision Commission.

COMMENT: Subsections (a), (d) and (e) are new. Subsection (a) defines precisely when an administrator with the will annexed may be appointed in the first instance, a point never made specific under the Probate Code of Guam (1970). Subsections (b) and (c) are substantively the same as § 409 of the Probate Code of Guam (1970), except that the last portion of subsection (b) is based on similar provisions of California law (§ 409) rather than the Probate Code of Guam (1970). Subsection (d) makes it clear that an administrator with the will annexed must meet the same qualifications, and be subject to the same requirements if he removes from Guam, as an executor; it is the Commission’s intention that the letters of an administrator with the will annexed, like those of an executor, be subject to revocation if the administrator with the will annexed ceases to be a resident of Guam, ceases to be physically present in Guam, or otherwise becomes incompetent to execute the duties of his trust during the course of the administration. Finally, subsection (e) is intended to make it clear that a new administrator with the will annexed may be appointed if the original executor or administrator with the will annexed dies,

COL120106
15 Guam Code Ann. ESTATES AND PROBATE
CH. 17 APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTORS AND OF
ADMINISTRATORS WITH THE WILL ANNEXED

resigns or becomes incompetent during the course of the administration and his letters are revoked, all as provided for in Chapter 21, infra.
NOTE: See Official Forms Nos. 2, 3 and 4, Appendix AA@.
———-

COL120106