A Letter of Administration is a document issued by the Court conferring authority to deal with the estate property of a deceased person on behalf of the beneficiaries of the estate. When a person dies intestate, i.e. without a Will, or a Will is rendered invalid, certain parties are allowed under the law to apply to manage the estate of the deceased person.
Persons so eligible to apply for same include; surviving spouses of the deceased i.e., either the husband or wife; children or grandchildren of the deceased; parents of the deceased; siblings of the deceased; grandparents of the deceased; aunts or uncles of the deceased and cousins of the deceased.
When applying for Letters of Administration in Lagos State, one important document required for the application is the original death certificate issued by the Hospital or by the National Population Commission. The second set of requirements needed to obtain a Letter of Administration in Lagos include the application form and;
- Bank certificate
- Application letter
- Oath for Administration
- Affidavit of Guarantor/Surety
- Inventory of personal assets
- Particulars of freehold/leasehold properties
- Schedule of debts and funeral expenses
The forms are required to be filled and signed by the nominated Administrators and submitted with the following requirements:
- Means of identification of the Administrators (Driver’s license/ Passport/ National Identification Card/Voters Card).
- 4 passport photographs of each Administrator.
- Bank certificate with entries by the Banks and Registrars of companies where the deceased person owned shares.
- Evidence of payment for application forms.
- Affidavit to render true and just account of the Estate of the deceased by the Administrators.
- The evidence of ownership of the deceased’s real property/ies) within Lagos State (where applicable). This may include a copy of a Certificate of Occupancy/a registered Deed of Assignment/Power of Attorney/Sub-Lease/Conveyance, a Survey Plan/ an approved Building Plan.
The set of forms is required to be filled with accurate information, signed, and returned to the Probate Registry with the above requirements and other documents that may be required from time to time and as demanded by the Registry (where necessary).
When all the requirements have been satisfied, the Registry shall issue the letters of administration through the Solicitors. The duration for entire process usually takes a minimum of six months and a maximum of 1 year.
If you have any questions regarding obtaining Letters of Administration, please post a comment or send an email to info@aocsolicitors.com.ng