What are Letters of Administration?

What are Letters of Administration and what do they do?

Will you need them for your probate case?

In this article, we will answer those questions and more.

My name is Erik Broel & I am the founder & CEO of Georgia Probate Law Group.

At our firm we help families who have lost a loved one navigate the complex and confusing legal process so they can make sure the estate is handled properly and their loved one’s memory is honored.

What are Letters of Administration?

Letters of Administration are a court order issued by the Probate Court.

It is the formal document where the Probate Court officially appoints an Administrator to represent the Estate.

As a result, the Letters of Administration give the Administrator the authority to:

– Collect Estate assets.

– Work with creditors.

– Take other actions on behalf of the Estate.

Without that document, no one has any power to take any action on behalf of the Estate whatsoever.

If you are in a situation where the deceased did not leave a Will, then you will need to have Letters of Administration in your case.

Without them, financial institutions and creditors will not speak with you, and you will not have the legal authority to transfer or sell Estate property – including the Estate home.

To obtain Letters of Administration, the deceased must not have left a Will.

You will need to file an appropriate petition in the Probate Court to begin the process.

If the deceased did leave a Will, then you would use a different process and receive a different order called Letters Testamentary.

Next Steps:

Everything discussed in this article is for general information and is not legal advice.

If you are in a situation where you’re trying to settle an estate, I recommend you reach out to our office at (770) 920-6030 to set up a consultation with one of our probate lawyers.

If you’re not quite ready for a consultation, be sure to download our Georgia Probate Handbook so you know how the estate is supposed to be handled.

Disclaimer: The information above is provided for general information only and should not be considered legal advice. Our probate attorneys provide legal advice to our clients after talking about the specific circumstances of the client’s situation. Our law firm cannot give you legal advice unless we understand your situation by talking with you. Please contact our law office to receive specific information about your situation.