The Administration of Estates Act 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5. c. 23) is an act passed in 1925 by the British Parliament that consolidated, reformed, and simplified the rules relating to the administration of estates in England and Wales.

Principal reforms

All authority that a personal representative had with respect to chattels real (such as fixtures) was extended to cover any matter dealing with real estate as well. With respect to the property of any estate (excepting entailed interests), there were abolished: The rules governing the distribution of intestate estates were replaced by a single statutory framework.

Later significant amendments

The Act has been subsequently amended in certain respects by the following:

In fiction

The Act plays a major role (as the 'Property Act') in the 1927 mystery novel Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers, its commencement with respect to intestate estates providing the motive for a seemingly motiveless murder which Lord Peter Wimsey must solve.