What Does a Letter of Administration Do in Probate Court?

If you have an estate that is in probate a personal representative must be appointed to handle the affairs of the estate. You can name a representative in your estate documents, or else, the court will appoint somebody, but whomever it is and however it happens, the representative must have paperwork from the court, telling the world that he or she is, in fact, the personal representative of the estate.

That is exactly what a letter of administration is. In the probate process. It can be a formality, such as when there is just one personal representative, but may also be contested, if there is some reason that more than one person believes that they should be the personal representative.

The Powers of the Personal Representative

The letter of administration is issued by the court, and allows the representative to legally do what he or she must do to handle the estate. That may include things like opening or closing bank accounts or transferring title to property, or safeguarding and inventorying assets, or speaking with creditors of the deceased. It may also include the right to manage, pay, or dispute creditor claims.

You must have this letter of administration, which will also appoint the personal representatuve–simply being a spouse or a sole surviving heir doesn’t automatically allow you to do what needs to be done to the deceased’s assets, in the absence of being officially appointed representative by the letter of administration.

It even gives the representative the legal right to sell estate property. Although the representative still must abide by whatever the will, or the court, says will be done with the deceased’s property.

If the willis clear, and there is no contest of the estate documents or confusion or ambiguity under the estate documents, the letter of administration can additionally give the representative the authority to legally transfer the deceased’s property to whomever is supposed to receive it.

What About a Power of Attorney?

You may think that a letter of administration sounds much like a power of attorney, allowing the representative to handle the deceased’s affairs. And in a lot of ways, it is like a power of attorney–the problem is that a power of attorney expires on the death of the person who made it, so someone who may have been previously granted authority or power under the power of attorney documents, must now get letters of administration.

Restrictions

The court, in the letters of administration, may place certain restrictions on how property is handled, sold or disposed of.

For example, the court may require that real property be sold at a minimum, price, or that money be held in a certain kind of account or investment. Some assets may need to be placed in accounts that specifically require court approval, before any withdrawals are made.

Let us help guide you through the probate process. Call the West Palm Beach probate law attorneys at The Law Offices of Larry E. Bray today.

Source:

flcourts.gov/Courts-System/florida-courts-help/other-resources/probate