Estate Administration
When someone dies the person responsible for administering the deceased’s estate is the legal personal representative. This person may be an executor or an administrator who has been granted Probate or Letters of Administration by the Supreme Court.
The legal personal representative dealing with the deceased’s estate has an obligation to:
identify, locate and collect and call in the real and personal estate of the deceased
determine any potential estate liabilities
apply to the Supreme Court for either Probate or Letters of Administration (if required)
attend to the deceased person’s superannuation
distribute the estate of the deceased as soon as reasonably possible
prepare estate accounts and report to beneficiaries how assets were distributed
give consideration to any claims for executor’s commission for work performed by the legal personal representative in their capacity as an executor for their “pains and trouble” in administering the estate
attend to the deceased person’s taxation affairs
PROBATE
The purpose of obtaining Probate is to prove the last Will of the deceased is valid so that the executor named in that Will may legally distribute the assets of the deceased in accordance with the terms of that Will. Grants of Probate are made by the Supreme Court.
Probate is not always necessary. That is:
where an estate is modest it may be possible to deal with the estate informally
if property is owned with someone else in a joint capacity (as joint tenants), those assets may go automatically to the other person and may not form part of the estate
the transfer of property to a beneficiary specifically provided for in the Will
a Grant of Probate may not be needed.
LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION
If a person dies without a Will or dies and their Will cannot be located, a family member or next of kin can apply to the Supreme Court for authority to be recognised as the deceased’s legal personal representative. This application is known as an application for Letters of Administration on Intestacy. This application can only be made to the Supreme Court.
Usually public companies and banks will require a Grant of Letters of Administration before they will consider any dealings with any shares or bank accounts of a deceased person.
However, where there is a Will but no executor named or able to act (eg the executor has died or they do not want to act or cannot act) someone else can apply to the Court for Letters of Administration with the Will (instead of making an application for a Grant of Probate by an executor).
The Court will grant Letters of Administration to a spouse, child of the deceased or even someone to whom the deceased owes money.
WHERE TO SOURCE HELP WITH ESTATE ADMINISTRATION
If you require advice and assistance in estate administration contact John and the team at JDS Lawyers.