Grant of Letters of Administration

What are Letters of Administration and how much do they cost?

The Grant of Letters of Administration is a court document granted by the Family Court issued to the person (usually the closest next of kin) who will administer the estate of someone who dies without a valid will.

When do you need a Grant of Letter of Administration?

You will need Letters of Administration when someone with assets passes away without a valid Will.

When a person dies, someone needs to collect all their assets and distribute them to the beneficiaries. Therefore, the probate lawyer will apply to the court to get you a Grant of Probate (where the person dies with a Will) or Letters of Administration (where the person dies without a will) to enable the rightful person to collect the deceased’s assets and to distribute them in accordance with the will or accordance with the Intestate Succession Act.

Letters of Administration are thus a court document granted by the Family Court issued to the person (usually the closest next of kin) who will administer the estate of someone who dies without a will. The rules governing Letters of Administration are found in the Probate and Administration Act and the Intestate Succession Act.

Who can apply for Letters of Administration?

If the person dies without a will, the law prescribes a list of persons who can apply for Letters of Administration. The list of persons is in order of priority. The persons who can apply for Letters of Administration (in order of priority) are as follows:

  1. the spouse;
  2. the children of the deceased;
  3. the parents;
  4. brothers and sisters;
  5. nephews and nieces;
  6. grandparents; and
  7. uncles and aunts.

Hence, the spouse gets the priority to be the person applying for Letters of Administration. However, sometimes, the person with the priority may not want to administer the estate for the deceased. As an illustration, the spouse may be overseas or ill and prefers the children to be applying for Letters of Administration. In such an instance, the spouse can “renounce” the right to be the administrator in favour of one of the children.

At least two administrators must be appointed if one or more estate beneficiaries are below 21 years of age.

Naturally, bankrupts and infants cannot be appointed as administrators.

How are assets distributed under a Letter of Administration?

When a person passes away and leaves behind a will, the assets’ distribution will be in accordance with the will. However, where the person did not leave behind a will, the law under section 7 of the Intestate Succession Act is that the assets must be distributed in the following manner:

  • If the deceased person has only a spouse (but no children, no parents)
    • The spouse gets everything.
  • If the deceased person has a spouse and children
    • The spouse will get half the assets, and the children will get the other half in equal proportions.
  • If the person has only children (but no spouse)
    • The children get everything in equal shares.
  • If the person has a spouse and parents (but no children)
    • The spouse gets half, and the parents get the other half in equal shares.
  • If the person has only parents (but no spouse and no children)
    • The parents get everything in equal shares.
  • If the person has only brothers and sisters (but no spouse, no children and no parents)
    • The brothers and sisters (or children of the deceased brother or sister) get everything in equal shares.
  • If the person has only grandparents (but no spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters or children of deceased brother and sister)
    • The grandparents get everything in equal shares.
  • If the person has only had uncles and aunts (but no spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters or children of deceased brother and sister and no grandparents)
    • The uncles and aunts take everything in equal shares.
  • If there are no living relatives as above
    • The government takes everything.

The actual legal wording from the Intestate Succession Act is below:

Rule 1

If an intestate dies, leaving a surviving spouse, no issue and no parent, the spouse shall be entitled to the whole of the estate.

Rule 2

If an intestate dies, leaving a surviving spouse and issue, the spouse shall be entitled to one-half of the estate.

Rule 3

Subject to the rights of the surviving spouse, if any, the estate (both as to the undistributed portion and the reversionary interest) of an intestate who leaves issue shall be distributed by equal portions per stirpes to and amongst the children of the person dying intestate and such persons as legally represent those children, in case any of those children be then dead.

  • Proviso No. (1) — The persons who legally represent the children of an intestate are their descendants and not their next‑of‑kin.
  • Proviso No. (2) — Descendants of the intestate to the remotest degree stand in the place of their parent or another ancestor and take according to their stocks the share which they would have taken.

Rule 4

If an intestate dies, leaving a surviving spouse and no issue but a parent or parents, the spouse shall be entitled to one-half of the estate and the parent or parents to the other half of the estate.

Rule 5

If there are no descendants, the intestate’s parent or parents shall take the estate, in equal portions if there are 2 parents, subject to the surviving spouse’s rights (if any) as provided in rule 4.

Rule 6

If there are no surviving spouse, descendants or parents, the brothers and sisters and children of deceased brothers or sisters of the intestate shall share the estate in equal portions between the brothers and sisters. The children of any deceased brother or sister shall take according to their stocks the share which the deceased brother or sister would have taken.

Rule 7

If there are no surviving spouse, descendants, parents, brothers and sisters or children of such brothers and sisters but grandparents of the intestate, the grandparents shall take the whole estate in equal portions.

Rule 8

If there are no surviving spouse, descendants, parents, brothers and sisters or their children or grandparents but uncles and aunts of the intestate, the uncles and aunts shall take the whole estate in equal portions.

Rule 9

In default of distribution under rules 1 to 8, the Government shall be entitled to the whole of the estate.

How long does Letter of Administration take to complete?

We typically obtain a grant of letter of administration within around 4 weeks. Sometimes we are able to obtain it within 2 weeks. You may wish to contact us to discuss your situation further.

Grant of Letters of Administration – How much does it cost?

Fixed, clear & transparent fees

Grant of Probate

From $1,190

Letter of Administration

From $1,190

We are here to help

Please get in touch to discuss your situation.

Should you require legal representation, kindly contact PKWA Law for a free first consultation with one of our lawyers.

Call us

+65 6854 5336

Whatsapp us

+65 9090 3158

Authors

Lim Chong Boon

Head of Family Law & General Litigation Practice

View Profile

Contact us

v4 1

Call us

Whatsapp us

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.