If you have any questions about Letters of Administration that are not answered below, please don't hesitate to get in touch, we're here to make Letters of Administration as simple as possible.
You may require Letters of Administration if:
Additionally, you may require the Grant to have the power to make directions regarding the deceased’s funeral or what is to occur to their remains.
If the deceased held minimal sums of funds only, or perhaps only a motor vehicle, you may be able to avoid obtaining the Grant of Letters of Administration in Victoria.
In Victoria, there are three main costs for Letters of Administration. You can read more about Victorian Letters of Administration costs here.
Letters of Administration in Victoria is similar to the Grant of Probate because it establishes a person, or people, who are entitled to act on the behalf of the estate - calling in the estate assets, paying the liabilities and transferring the residue to the estate beneficiaries.
The main difference is the existence of a will.
If your loved one left a valid will, in most cases you should apply for a Grant of Probate in Victoria. If they did not leave a will (i.e. they died “intestate”) then the Courts determine who will be the estate representative, the “administrator”, by looking to the Administration and Probate Act 1958. The Letters of Administration application proves to the Court, via the production of documentary and affidavit evidence, the family tree of the deceased.
The whole process may take around 4 weeks, from start to finish.
The process commences when a notice is lodged on the Supreme Court of Victoria online registry, notifying the public of the administrators intention to apply for Letters of Administration. This gives an opportunity to estate creditors, and prospective claimants, to make a claim on the estate. They will get in contact directly with us if they do.
After the two-week notice period lapses you can swear the application we draft for you, and once your sworn documents are submitted to the Victorian probate registry, the registrars can take from 2 days to 4 weeks to process the application, depending on present the turnaround times.
You don’t have to act as an administrator if you don’t want to. You won’t necessarily lose your entitlements in the estate if you don’t act as an administrator.
If you choose not to act as the estate administrator, you will lose the opportunity to make decisions on behalf of the estate, as well as the power to call in, collect, pay estate liabilities and to distribute the proceeds of the estate to the beneficiaries.
The documents you are required to submit for the Letters of Administration application in Victoria differ depending on the family circumstances of the deceased. Commonly required documents include:
Contact us today to discuss the requirements of your application for Letters of Administration in Victoria.
To make an application for Letters of Administration in Victoria click here.
Once you contact us we will firstly determine whether Letters of Administration is required for your circumstances, or whether it is the most appropriate Supreme Court grant to apply for.
We will then determine the most appropriate person to be the applicant for Letters of Administration in Victoria.
We will advise you what documents the Court will require and will start drafting the application for you, including publishing the necessary notice of your application on the Victorian Supreme Court online registry.
Finally, before the application is submitted at the Supreme Court of Victoria, we will either meet with you at our Victorian office or will mail the application to you to be sworn before a local Justice of the Peace.
No, there is no deadline which applies for Letters of Administration or Probate applications. Nevertheless, it is possible that the Court may request an ‘Affidavit of Delay’ in relation to your application if a significant amount of time has elapsed since the date of passing. For this reason, we strongly recommend that applications are made and submitted to the Court at least within 1 year of the deceased’s passing.
There are several factors which will determine a super fund will require the production of Letters of Administration for the release of the superannuation and death benefits proceeds. These may include whether the applicants for such funds are dependants on the deceased, whether the deceased made binding death-benefits nominations and the contents of the superannuation deed governing the decision making of the trustees.
Contact us now to see whether you require Letters of Administration to gain access to superannuation proceeds.
One of Australia’s Supreme Courts can issue a Grant of Letters of Administration. To determine the state in which the application should be made please contact us here.
Letters of Administration is paid for by the estate. It is an example of a ‘testamentary expense’. Other examples of testamentary expenses include funeral fees and any outstanding bills or liabilities which the deceased had at the time of passing. Executors and administrators have an obligation to pay the testamentary expenses before payment to beneficiaries can be made.
You can obtain Letters of Administration from abroad if you are entitled to the Grant and if you have an attorney appointed to apply on your behalf.
National Probate and Estates Group often acts as an attorney on behalf of overseas applications. Contact us today to discuss your needs.
Yes, if you are a de facto partner of someone who died without a will you can apply for Letters of Administration. Depending on the circumstances, you may be entitled to the entirety of your partner’s estate.
To secure your entitlement to your partner’s estate contact us now. Click here to apply.
If your loved one left a will, but didn’t appoint an executor, or that executor is not willing or able to act as executor, the appropriate application to make is for Letters of Administration with the will annexed. The person entitled to make this application will vary on a case-by-case basis. We are very experienced in making Letters of Administration with the will annexed applications at the Supreme Court of Victoria - contact one of our expert solicitors to discuss your matter.
We offer affordable, fixed-fee quotes for obtaining Letters of Administration in Victoria.
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