Letters of administration

When letters of administration are needed

• There is no will at all
• There is a will, but it is invalid — unsigned, improperly witnessed, or revoked
• The will names no executor
• Every named executor has died, renounced, or is unable to act

Where a valid will exists but no executor can act, the grant is called letters of administration with the will annexed. The will still decides who inherits.

Who may apply, and in what order

Only certain relatives can apply, and they rank in a fixed statutory order. Someone further down the list can apply only where everyone above them has died or renounced.

1. Surviving spouse or civil partner
2. Children, or their children where a child has already died
3. Parents
4. Brothers and sisters, or their children
5. Grandparents
6. Uncles and aunts, or their children

How the application differs from probate

• Form PA1A is used instead of PA1P
• There is no will to send with the application
• Your authority begins when the grant is issued, not at the date of death
• The intestacy rules decide the beneficiaries and their shares
• Where a beneficiary is under 18, at least two administrators are usually required

What the intestacy rules do

A surviving spouse takes the personal possessions and a fixed statutory sum, with the remainder divided between the spouse and the children. Where there is no spouse, the estate passes down the order above. The figures are set by statute and reviewed periodically, so check the current amounts before you distribute anything.

GOV.UK — Who inherits if someone dies without a will

Before you apply

• Search thoroughly for a will — check the home, the bank, solicitors used in the past and the National Will Register
• Establish the full family tree, since it determines who may apply and who inherits
• Get written date-of-death valuations for every asset and debt
• Get renunciations in writing from anyone with an equal or better right who does not want to act

GOV.UK — Applying for probate