ather than probate. This person is called an administrator. You have to apply for letters of administration if:
- there is no will
- a will is not valid
- there are no executors named in the will
- the executors cannot or are unwilling to act.
There are strict rules about who can be an administrator. If there is a valid will, you can apply for letters of administration if:
- the person who died left all of their estate to you in the will, and
- the executors are not named, or cannot or are unwilling to act.
If there is no valid will, and you are the next-of-kin, you can apply to be an administrator in the following order of priority:
- you are the married partner or civil partner of the person who has died
- you are the child of the person who has died
- you are the grandchild of the person who has died
- you are the parent of the person who has died
- you are the brother or sister of the person who has died
- you are the nephew or niece of the person who has died
- you are another relative of the person who has died.
An unmarried partner, or same-sex partner who has not registered a civil partnership and who has not been named in a will as an executor will not usually be able to act as an administrator.
You do not always need letters of administration to be able to deal with the estate of someone who has died.
Do you always need probate or letters of administration
You usually need probate or letters of administration to deal with an estate if it includes property such as a flat or a house. Otherwise, you may not need probate or letters of administration if:
- the estate is just made up of cash (that is, bank notes and coins) and personal possessions such as a car, furniture, and jewellery
- all the property in the estate is owned as beneficial joint tenants This property automatically becomes wholly owned by the other owner
- you had a joint bank account
- the amount of money is small
- you discover that the estate is insolvent, that is, there is not enough money in the estate to pay all the debts, taxes and expenses
- there are certain life insurance policies and pension benefits in the estate.
Couples may jointly own their home. There are two different ways of jointly owning a home. These are beneficial joint tenancies and tenancies in common.
If the partners were beneficial joint tenants at the time of the death, the surviving partner will automatically inherit the other partner's share of the property. There is no need for probate or letters of administration unless there are other assets that are not jointly owned. The property might have a mortgage.
However, if the partners are tenants in common, the surviving partner does not automatically inherit the other person's share. Probate or letters of administration will be needed so the personal representative can pass it whoever will inherit the share of the property, according to the will or the rules of intestacy. The property might have a mortgage.
Example: Ayodele and Olujimi are not married. They have one grown-up daughter called Ife. Ayodele and Olujimi own their home as tenants in common. Ayodele dies without leaving a will. Olujimi doesn't have the right to apply for letters of administration but Ife does. She inherits the half share of the home under the rules of intestacy. Olujimi keeps his half share.
For more information about beneficial joint tenancies and tenancies in common, see Buying with someone else in Buying a home. For more information about the rules of intestacy, see Who can inherit if there is no will – the rules of intestacy.
If there is a mortgage on the property
If the property is to be inherited by someone and there is still an outstanding mortgage on it, the mortgage company will either require the mortgage to be paid immediately, or ask the person who inherits the property to take over the mortgage.
If there is a mortgage on the property, there might be a life insurance policy, an endowment policy, or mortgage protection policy which will pay the outstanding mortgage if the person with the mortgage dies. In this case, you should write to