Letters of Administration is similar to probate but is the name of the document given to an administrator where a person dies without leaving a Will or dies leaving a Will which does not effectively appoint an executor.

When a person dies without a Will they are said to die ‘intestate’.

In these circumstances, the provisions of the Administration and Probate Act determine who can administer the estate and how the estate is to be distributed.

We prepare applications for proposed administrators to the Supreme Court of South Australia. Once the Probate Registrar is satisfied about the application, it issues a document called ‘Letters of Administration’ which can be produced to financial institutions and government departments (such as the Land Titles Office) where there are assets in the name of the deceased.

Where a person dies with a Will which does not effectively appoint an executor, we prepare applications for ‘Letters of Administration with the Will annexed‘.