Usually when a sole proprietor dies the trade will cease as personal representatives are restricted to winding up the affairs of the deceased which would not normally mean carrying on the trade. However there have been instances where the personal representatives (or liquidators where it was a sole owner of a company) have been found to be trading. In administering an estate or winding up a company it is the personal representative or liquidator's duty to realise the assets to the best advantage and that, in order to do so, they may have to complete transactions which had been embarked upon by the deceased.
Cases where trading has not been found
In Cohan's Exors1, a testator had entered into a contract to purchase a ship and died before he had paid the whole of the price. The purchase was completed by the executors and the ship was resold to a single shipping company formed for the purpose. It was held that they were doing no more than realising an asset to the best
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