Probate and Letters of Administration

If it is known that a Will was made, it is important that the contents be ascertained as soon as possible after death, as it may contain instructions regarding the funeral arrangements. A Will may be among personal papers or with the bank or solicitor for safe keeping. If a solicitor has been consulted by the deceased in the recent past, it is important that you contact them without delay.

Before the estate of the deceased person (ie everything they owned), can be realised and distributed among the persons entitled to share it, a grant of Probate or Letters of Administration is usually required.

Probate – where the deceased has left a Will and the Will is proved to be the lawful act of the deceased person then the District Probate Registry (of the High Court) grants probate to the executors named in the Will enabling them to administer the estate.

Letters of Administration – where there is no Will, the person is said to have died “intestate” and here application must be made to a special division of the High Court usually by the next of kin. This can be dealt with either through a solicitor or directly by the local probate office. The Court, when satisfied as to the claim of the applicant, issues the document known as Letters of Administration appointing the claimant to administer the “intestate” estate.