ACCESSING THE FUNDS OF A DECEASED PROPRIETOR HELD IN A REGISTERED BUSINESS NAME: THE NEED FOR CLARITY

Abstract

This article examines whether a personal representative of a deceased sole proprietor who operated through a registered business name, requires the authorisation or consent of the Corporate Affairs Commission before he access funds deposited in a bank in that name. It argues that in contrast to the incorporated company which has a separate existence different from its members, a registered business name of a sole proprietor ends with his death, as such his personal representative should ordinarily have access to his estate without requiring any authorization beyond a probated will, or a court issued letter of administration. That a registered business name being one and the same with its proprietor, undue formalities and hurdles should not be placed on the pathways of PRs in accessing his funds as that would frustrate Nigeria’s drive to improve the ease of doing business in the country.