Procedure and Requirements for Obtaining Letter of Administration

PROCEDURE AND REQUIREMKENT FOR OBTAINING LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION

Have you ever wondered what happens to the estate of a deceased person? Well, this is where a letter of administration comes to play.

What is a letter of administration?

A letter of administration is a document granted by a surrogate court or probate registry to appoint the proper persons/administrators who would be in charge of the dealings of a deceased’s person’s estate. This letter of administration however, is would be in accordance of the intestacy laws of where the deceased died. Intestacy or dying intestate refers to when a person dies without leaving behind a valid will of any sort.

A letter of administration cannot however, be transferred or inherited.

TYPES OF GRANTS OF LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION

There are certain situations that would warrant a grant of letter of administration. These situations include:

1. GRANT OF LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION WHERE WILL IS ANNEXED: This situation would involve granting a letter of administration where the deceased died partially intestate. This refers to circumstances where a will is present but no executors were appointed, or where executors are not unfit to carry out assigned duties or where the executors have refused to act upon their duties as executors.
2. GRANT OF LETTER OF LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION WHERE WILL IS NOT ANNEXED: This refers to situations whereby the deceased failed to make a will before death (died intestate), or where a part of the deceased’s estate is not covered by the will or where the will is declared invalid.

READ: Procedure and Requirements for Obtaining Letter of Administration

PEOPLE WHO CAN APPLY FOR A LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION

Inasmuch as the deceased died without a will or instructions on who would oversee the dealings of his estate, this does not mean that just anyone can apply for a letter of administration. Section 49(1) of the Administration of Estate Law, Lagos state, states the people who can apply for a letter of administration. These people are usually referred to as next of kin of the deceased and they are stated as follows;

• -Surviving spouse
• -Children of the deceased
• -Grandchildren of the deceased
• -parents of the deceased
• -Siblings who share same parents of the deceased
• -Grandparents of the deceased
• -Uncles and Aunts of the deceased
• -Creditors of the deceased

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROCESSING LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION

Upon the death of a person, it is only the authorized next-of-kin or legal representatives of the deceased that can be appointed as administrators to manage the Estate of the deceased and take steps to bind the Estate. Where the deceased died without a Will, the law expects the legal representatives of the deceased to apply at the probate registry of the Court within the jurisdiction of the Estate to obtain letters of administration.

Below are the requirements for obtaining letters of administration at the probate division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and other courts are as follows;

1. Death Certificate (Original and Photocopy).
2. Letter of Introduction of Next of Kin from the Deceased office introducing the next of kin (addressed to the Probate Registrar, FCT High Court of Justice, Maitama), Record of Service or Marriage Certificate/Declaration of Marriage if the Deceased was Self Employed or Retired.
3. Minimum of two Next of Kin (who must come in person) with one Passport Photograph each and photocopy of their Means of Identification (International Passport, National ID Card, Voters Card, etc.).
4. Two Sureties (who must come in person), with one Passport Photograph each and photocopy of their Means of Identification (International Passport, National ID Card, Voters Card, etc.).
5. The Name of the Pension Managers of the Deceased and Pen Number.(If applicable)
6. Name(s) of Bank Account of the Deceased and Account Number.
7. Application Fee. (Currently #5,500 only)
8. Publication Fee. (#4000, or #10,000)
9. Document of Landed Property (if the Deceased has any).
10. Estate Fee on Landed Property. #50, 000 per landed property
11. Share Certificate (if the Deceased has shares) and Estate Fees on Shares is charged base on the value of the shares

The Registrar usually stressed the original copies of the above documents must be produced for sighting and all those to be appointed as administrators (next of kin) must be physically present the sign the relevant form.

Minimum of two administrators and maximum of four

PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION

A letter of administration may be granted to a person who applied for it on their own or a person who applied for it through a legal practitioner’s application to the probate registry. The following are the procedures involved in application for a letter of administration:

1. Application for the letter of administration shall be made to the probate registrar. This application shall be submitted alongside necessary documents which should include; death certificate of the deceased, statutory affidavit of the next of kin, an administration bond by the applicant, sureties and debts of the deceased and particulars of the asset etc.
2. After application is submitted, the probate registry will go ahead to assess the information contained in the application form. Part of the information they would access is the fees payable on the estate. The proposed administrators shall in turn make payment of assessed fee and newspaper publication fee with bank draft from a pre-designated bank and evidence of payment.
3. Assessment and approval of proposed administrators by the registry. There is also the screening and approval of the application form.
4. The next step to take is the publication of the application in a national newspaper or gazette. The purpose of this is to inform anyone who may bear interest in the deceased’s estate, about the grant of letter of administration being sought by proposed administrators.
5. During a specified period of 21 days, objection as to the application may be made.
6. If no objection is made within that period, the probate judge may then approve the application.
7. Upon approval, the letter of administration will be signed and issued by the probate registrar.

DOWNLOAD PDF OF THE PROBATE FORM FOR LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION

PERIOD FOR GRANT OF LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION

In Lagos state, a grant of Letter of administration where a will is annexed will be issued after fourteen (14) days after the death of the deceased. On the other hand, if a will is not annexed, the issuing of a grant of letter of administration would take place twenty one (21) days after the death of the deceased.

In FCT, further reference shall be made to Order 62 Rule 1(3) High court of the FCT, Abuja (Civil procedure) rules, 2018.

Note however, that the timeline for completion of the application and grant thereby, of the letter of administration would usually take 3-5 months.

COST OF APPLICATION FOR LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

A certain amount of fees must be paid before a letter of administration may be reviewed and accepted. There will be an estate charge of 5%-10% of the deceased’s estate value; this would be subject to the laws of the state in which the estate is located. This charge must be paid to the state government where the application for letter of administration was made.

NOTE

-It is necessary to obtain a grant for letter of administration in situations mentioned above. It is this letter of administration that issues right on the holder/administrators to execute dealings concerning the estate. If there is any meddling on the estate without this grant, it shall be considered illegal and the offender may bear criminal or civil liabilities, regardless of their relationship with the deceased.

CONCLUSION

It is common knowledge that every individual should make a will concerning execution of their estate upon death. As opposed to the usual sentiment, making a will does not proclaim death on anyone but in fact eases the execution of the deceased’s estate for the surviving next of kin. If one is however faced with the absence of a will upon death of their next kin, there should be no hesitation to resort to the probate registry or to contact a certified legal practitioner. This would help to avoid disagreements.

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