Probate Lawyers Sydney

Letters of Administration

Rafton Family Lawyers Sydney Parramatta and Richmond are able to assist in circumstances where an application for letters of administration is required.

When a person dies leaving assets in New South Wales, all assets of the deceased are deemed to be vested in the New South Wales Trustee. If there is a valid Will left at the time the deceased died, the duty of the Executor named in that Will is to call in all the assets and pay off any liabilities and distribute the Estate to the beneficiaries that are named in that Will.

The circumstances where Letters of Administration Grant is required is where there is no valid Will left. This is also referred to as the person dying “intestate”. If there is a Will but no Executor or if the Executor has passed away or prefers to not administer the Estate, then the task of administration od the Estate may only be carried out by a person first obtaining a grant of Letters of Administration.

If you are in a situation where you are a beneficiary in a Will and there is no Executor or the Executor is deceased or the Executor does not want to act in distribution of the Estate we are able to assist at Rafton Family Lawyers.

We are also able to assist for a grant of Letters of Administration in circumstances where there is no valid Will left and you would like to ensure proper administration of the Estate.

In applying for a grant of Letters of Administration we do need to prepare documents and file them in the Supreme Court of NSW and we will ensure that we fully comply with all aspects of the legislation.

We have several offices across Sydney that can assist at a convenient location and time to suit your needs. Call us now on 1300 4 FAMILY or send an email via our web site and somebody will call you immediately.

Costs of Letters of Administration

The cost to apply for a grant of Letters of Administration will include both the professional fees in preparing the application as well as the prescribed filing fee set by the Supreme Court of NSW.

The cost to do so is calculated in reference to the complexity of the Estate as well as the value of the Estate. At Rafton Family Lawyers we operate in utilising the scale set by the Supreme Court of NSW. This is a scale based on the size of the asset pool in the charges for the legal work required. There is also an additional filing fee that is set by the Supreme Court of NSW and the filing fee will be calculated and advised to you at the time of the initial consultation but can also be obtained by looking up on the Supreme Court of NSW website.

In many instances the cheque for the filing fee can be obtained utilising the deceased bank account prior to the application being made as well as a provision for payment to an administrator out of their own fees for reimbursement of these legal costs. If you have any questions these can also be discussed with your Solicitor at the time of your consultation.

How long does it take to obtain a Letters of Administration?

The first step in any application is to contact Rafton Family Lawyers and we can meet with you at a confidential initial consultation. Our consultation goes for approximately one hour and we will follow up in writing following the consultation.

We can discuss the likely fees and charges at the consultation, the filing fee and also an estimate as to the time required.

As a minimum time period a grant of Letters of Administration takes at least twenty-eight days. On average Rafton Family Lawyers Letters of Administration take anywhere from one to four months to be granted from the date of filing.

This is related to delays in the processing at the Supreme Court of NSW as well as the delay if information is required to fully list the deceased personal belongings, assets and liabilities prior to filing the application.

There is also a legal requirement that an application for Letters of Administration can not be filed with the Court until at least fourteen days has lapsed from an online notice which we also prepare and file on behalf of the Estate.

Duties of Administrator

There are many important duties for somebody that applies to be administrator under a grant of Letters of Administration.

There is a Section 44 of the Probate & Administration Act (NSW) that indicates that once the grant of Letters of Administration is successful all assets of the deceased vest in the administrator. The administrator is also in some legal documents referred to as the legal personal representative.

This is a very important role that entails administering the assets and liabilities of the Estate.

Generally speaking, the person with the highest right to administration in New South Wales is the spouse of the deceased followed by the children and then a fit and competent person and lastly any creditor. If there is no fit person or persons that fit these descriptions the owner of the house where the deceased resided will be granted the right to bury.

Reasonable costs and expenses of the funeral can be paid from the Estate monies.

Call Rafton Family Lawyers Richmond and Parramatta on 1300 4 FAMILY and we are able to assist with any enquires regarding these matters to arrange a confidential appointment.

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