What letters of administration means
Letters of administration are permission to sort out an estate when there is no will.
When somebody dies leaving a valid will, the executor named in it applies for probate. When there is no will, no valid will, or no executor able to act, somebody has to apply to be appointed instead. That person is the administrator, and the grant they receive is letters of administration.
Without it, banks will not release funds and land registries will not act, because nobody has authority to deal with the deceased's property.
How it is used
Family members apply at the probate registry of the High Court in the relevant state. The application involves the death certificate, an inventory of assets and liabilities, identification, and usually sureties who stand behind the administrators.
Once granted, the administrators collect the assets, settle debts and expenses, and distribute the balance according to the applicable rules of intestacy or customary law rather than according to anybody's preference.
Key features
- Granted where there is no valid will or no executor able to act
- Applied for at the probate registry of the State High Court
- Distribution follows intestacy rules or customary law, not family agreement
- Usually requires sureties and a full inventory of the estate
- Takes months, and considerably longer where the family is in dispute
How this works in Nigeria
This is where dying without a will causes the most pain. Bank accounts are frozen on notification of death, and the family cannot access them until the grant issues, which routinely takes many months.
Who inherits then depends on the deceased's personal law, which may be statutory or customary depending on the circumstances, and the outcome frequently differs sharply from what the deceased would have chosen. Unmarried partners, stepchildren and blended families tend to fare worst.
Letters of administration vs probate
Probate applies where there is a valid will. The executor named in the will applies, and the estate is distributed according to what the will says.
Letters of administration apply where there is no will, or no executor who can act. An administrator is appointed, and distribution follows the intestacy rules rather than anybody's wishes.
The difference in practice is control and speed. Probate is generally faster and less contentious, because the deceased already answered the questions. Administration leaves those questions to the law and to a family that may not agree.
Limits and risks
An administrator cannot distribute according to what the family thinks is fair. They are bound by the applicable rules, and distributing otherwise exposes them personally.
The process is also slow and document heavy, and where several people want to administer the estate, or where a will surfaces later, it can become contested and take years.
Worth knowing
A simple will avoids all of this. It names who should act, says who gets what, and turns a months long administration into a comparatively straightforward probate.