Another strange word beloved of lawyers. It applies to a situation where someone finds that they have been appointed executor in a Will, starts acting in that capacity and then regrets taking on the responsibility.
An example would be an executor who takes control of the deceased’s property and starts dealing with creditors and financial bodies, it is then probably too late for them to renounce the appointment and they will become responsible for fulfilling all the executor’s duties, including for example accounting for Inheritance Tax. The reluctant executor will only be off the hook if there are other executors who are content to do the work and leave him or her with ‘power reserved’ in the probate application.
The lesson is think carefully before taking action as executor, because once you have taken on the role you cannot then ‘retire’.
Where someone who is not an executor at all acts as if they were they can also be found to have intermeddled.