Letters of Administration
What is Letters of Administration?
When someone dies without leaving a Will they are said to have died intestate. In the absence of a Will it usual for the closest next of kin to make an application to the Supreme Court of Victoria to apply for Letters of Administration to become the administrator of the estate. Many people confuse this process with applying for a Grant of Probate. Probate is the term used to prove a Will however when someone dies without a Will or in some circumstances they die where the Will is defective then the process is known as applying for Letters of Administration. Making an application for Letter of Administration is a complex process, time consuming and at times can be overwhelming. As estate lawyers we assist many people to apply for Letters of Administration as the task can be daunting process. Once the application for Letters of Administration has been made the administrator appointed will then be empowered to deal with assets of the deceased. The appointed administrator must strictly administer and distribute the estate in accordance with the Administration and Probate Act 1958.
Who can apply for Letters of Administration?
In most instances the closest next of kin of the deceased will make the application to the Supreme Court to apply for Letters of Administration. However, in some instances this is not feasible because of age, location or other circumstances. In this case the very next in-line of the next of kin will make the application.
How do you apply for Letters of Administration?
Depending on the circumstances if you are the next of kin of the deceased you may or may not know if they had a Will. If you are sure they died without a Will then you can start the process of Letters of Administration. If you’re not sure if the deceased made a Will you will have the task of going through the deceased’s personal files, contacting their lawyer(s) or having to reach out to their local bank to see if a Will was stored away from their home. As estate lawyers we can undertake this task for you saving you time and unnecessary headaches.
Once it has been determined there is no Will then a copy of the death certificate is needed. In addition to this you will need to start the arduous task of preparing a list of their assets and liabilities. This means you will need to contact all banks, share market clearance houses, undertake real estate title searches, lost money searches and much more. You will also need to assess what liabilities the deceased had as at the date of their death.
When you have catalogued all the assets you will need make sure you have accurate values for them. This may require you to obtain the assistance from a valuer so you can confidently detail all the assets and liabilities into a Supreme Court affidavit. The following step is needed to apply for Letters of Administration which is to advertise your intention to make the application. There is a time frame once the advertising has been made before you can file the application for Letters of Administration to the Supreme Court. The purpose of the advertising is to effectively tell the world the application is about to be made and that if anyone is owed money from the deceased they can contact you before you make the application.
What happens when Letters of Administration has been granted?
When the court has made an order for Letters of Administration the job of the administrator is certainly not at an end. The administrator then must ensure they call in all the assets, attend to the sale of assets to convert them to cash, pay debts and attend to final tax returns. Once a final nett position of the estate has been finalised then distribution can occur. However, the administrator must strictly follow the law outlined in the Administration and Probate Act 1958. An estate where no will was left is not immune from being contested. It is vital that an administrator obtains comprehensive legal advice prior to distribution of the estate concerning the possible risks of a contested estate.
How our Estate Lawyers are helping Administrators from the application for Letters of Administration to Distribution.
Our estate lawyers can take the stress, worry and time consuming paperwork away from you. The legal costs are paid out of the estate so the administrator has no out of pocket expenses. Our estate lawyers can:
- Assist you with all the necessary searches for any potential Wills,
- Prepare a detailed inventory of all assets and liabilities of the estate,
- Obtain any necessary insurance policies for valuable assets,
- Work with share market clearance houses to find lost shares,
- Undertake searches for real estate and find lost property titles,
- Recover retirement or nursing home bonds; and
- Search for overseas and interstate assets.
Our estate lawyers also offer administration services on your behalf. This takes away the headache of you having to do all the hard work. Our estate lawyers call in the assets, make the application to Supreme Court, sell assets, pay debts, attend to tax returns and prepare the final distributions. You’ll be consulted throughout the process and provided with the best possible advice allowing you to have the estate settled faster. Call now or drop us a message to arrange your free consultation.
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