Application for a Grant of Letters of Administration
If there is no Will then an application must be made for a Grant of Letters of Administration.
This is the official confirmation of who can administer the estate which is issued by the Probate Registry. Without a Will no-one has any authority to act without a Grant being issued.
Who Can Apply?
The intestacy rules set out who is entitled to apply for the Grant. You can download our Intestacy Flowchart below.
This will normally be either be a spouse or a family member unless the deceased had no living family.
If the first person who is entitled to administer the estate does not wish to act then they are able to disclaim the position.
How Do I Apply?
An application has to be made to the Probate Registry setting out who is making the application and what the value of the estate is at the date of death.
You will need to obtain values for all assets including bank accounts, houses and land and personal possessions.
Please note that the value of the estate will include not only assets owned at the time of death but can include the value of gifts made up to fourteen years before the date of death.
You will also need to establish whether the deceased owed any money when they died as this will be deducted from the value of the assets to establish the value of the estate.
Once all the information has been gathered the application can be submitted. This is normally done online.
How Can We Help?
In addition to advising on the contents of the Will and the role of the Personal Representatives we will:
