If you need to obtain Letters of Administration in England or Wales then this article will explain what it is, why it is required and how to go about obtaining it.
A Letter of Administration is a formal legal document granted by the Probate Registry division of the High Court.
It is required when a person dies in England or Wales without leaving a Will.
An important thing to understand is that it is not a “letter” in the normal everyday sense of the word – a Letter of Administration is actually an official legal document issued by a court when someone dies without a Will. See the image for sample.
A Letter of Administration is required to deal with a deceased person’s assets when he/she died without leaving a Will, and had assets valued over £5000.
If you would like more information about Letters of Administration, click the button below to download our free Letters of Administration Checklist.
Examples where a Letter of Administration is required are where the deceased owned:
- Property; the property cannot change ownership, either by a sale or transfer to a family member, without a Letter of Administration.
- Bank/building society accounts
- National Savings & Investment products e.g. Premium Bonds
- ISAs
- Shares
- Pensions
- Insurance policies
- Investments held through financial advisers e.g. Unit Trusts
- Investment Bonds
These assets are ‘frozen’ and inaccessible after the financial organisation is notified of the death until a Letter of Administration is granted.
A Letter of Administration isn’t required for jointly owned bank accounts and property, or to sell motor vehicles and personal possessions.
It gives the next of kin the power to handle the deceased person’s estate and ensure the inheritance is paid to the correct person(s).
Think of it then as the passport the next of kin need to handle the deceased person’s finances and property.
How to apply for Letter of Administration
The first step is to identify the person who is legally entitled to apply for the Letter of Administration. There is a strict legal pecking order of who is allowed to apply, and if the wrong person applies the application will be rejected.
Applying for Letters of Administration is the responsibility of the deceased person’s legal ‘next of kin’. To identify that person just look at the list below. The person(s) that appears highest up the list is responsible for applying for the Letter of Administration:
- 1. The husband, wife or registered civil partner (not unmarried or “common law” partners).
- 2. Children (If the deceased was unmarried or divorced and had children under the age of 18, the surviving parent of the children is responsible for dealing with the Letter of Administration requirements).
- 3. Grandchildren
- 4. Parents
- 5. Brothers and sisters
- 6. The children of brothers and sisters (i.e. nieces/nephews).
- 7. Brothers and sisters of the half-blood (they have just one parent in common) of the deceased.
- 8. Grandparents.
- 9. Uncles and aunts.
The person entitled to apply for Letter of Administration should then take these steps, in order:
- Value the deceased person’s assets (their “estate”) at the date of death. This includes all bank accounts, savings, investments, life insurance, pensions, property and possessions such as motor vehicles, jewellery etc. Assets owned by the deceased person solely in his/her sole name and assets owned jointly with someone else need to be valued and recorded.
- Report the value of the estate to HMRC to establish whether there is any inheritance tax to pay. Pay any inheritance tax due within 6 months of the date of death.
- Complete the Letters of Administration application and submit it to the Probate Registry. Once the estate has been valued and the correct inheritance tax return formalities completed, complete the Letters of Administration Application Form PA1A.
Can you apply for Letters of Administration yourself?
Yes, providing you are the legal next of kin, and have the right instructions and documents to support you through the process.
You do not need to use a solicitor to apply for Letters of Administration. Solicitors fees are typically in the range of £3000-£10,000 so this is a significant cost saving if you deal with the Letters of Administration application yourself.
How do you know if you’re doing it right?
It’s an important question. Yes, obtaining Letters of Administration is straightforward in almost all cases, but it’s still very important to get it right, as getting it wrong can create more issues – clearly, it is a critical legal process, and if you incorrectly fill the forms in, there can be consequences.
For example, if you don’t correctly collate the value of assets, this can have implications for HMRC, which is something no one wants to get wrong.
As a result, it’s useful to have a guide or framework that’ll help you ensure you’re doing the right things at the right stage, and that’s why we put together a free Essential Letters of Administration FAQs + Checklist that’ll help you ensure that at each stage, you’re doing the right things.
What will the Essential Letters of Administration Checklist help me with?
Essentially, it guides you through the process, explaining what you need to do and in what order.
Here’s what the Essential Letters of Administration Checklist will help you with:
- How to value the deceased person’s assets for HMRC together with supporting resources to avoid making mistakes.
- Free template documents to save you time preparing them yourself.
- The 6 steps you need to take to obtain Letters of Administration
- The 8 steps you need to take after Letter of Administration has been obtained to finalise the deceased person’s finances and pay the inheritance money to the right people.
- The key tasks that the legal next of kin needs to perform
- Identifying the people and parties that you need to notify of the deceased’s death
- A flowchart explaining how the deceased person’s assets have to be distributed when there isn’t a Will (called the “Intestacy Rules”). It is essential to understand and follow these legal rules to avoid making a costly mistake.
In short, the Essential Letters of Administration Checklist gives you a framework you can work through to complete the legalities and obtain Letters of Administration without using an expensive solicitor, and we’re happy to give you them for free.
To access the checklist, and keep making progress on your Letters of Administration application, just enter your details below and we’ll send you your free copy now.