Right of succession

Definition

The narrow list of people who may keep operating on a dead licensee's approval.

Why It Matters

The federal rule is that these approvals are not transferable and a successor must obtain their own before commencing operations. The exception is small enough to be worth reading in full: a deceased licensee's surviving spouse or child, or the executor, administrator or other legal representative, and a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy or an assignee for creditors. An arm's length buyer appears nowhere on that list, which is why the sequencing of the two approvals is the deal.