Letters of Administration

Wills, trusts and estates

Part of the common law series
Wills
Legal history of wills Joint wills and mutual wills Will contract Codicil Holographic will Oral will Sections Attestation clause Residuary clause Incorporation by reference Contest Testamentary capacity Undue influence Insane delusion Fraud No-contest clause Property disposition Lapse and anti-lapse Ademption Abatement Satisfaction of legacies Acts of independent significance Elective share Pretermitted heir
Trusts
Express Resulting Constructive Common types Bare Discretionary Accumulation and maintenance Interest in possession Charitable Purpose Incentive Other types Protective Spendthrift Life insurance Remainder Life interest Reversionary interest Testamentary Honorary Asset-protection Special needs Supplemental needs Governing doctrines Pour-over will Cy-près doctrine Hague Convention (conflict law) Application in civil law Dishonest assistance
Estate administration
Intestacy Testator Probate Power of appointment Simultaneous death Slayer rule Laughing heir Advancement Disclaimer of interest Inheritance tax
Related topics
Advance directive (Living will) Blind trust Forced heirship Totten trust
Other common law areas
Contract Tort Property Criminal law Evidence
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Letters of Administration are granted by a surrogate court or probate registry to appoint appropriate people to deal with a deceased person's estate where property will pass under intestacy rules or where there are no executors living (and willing and able to act) having been validly appointed under the deceased's will. Traditionally, letters of administration granted to a representative of a testator's estate are called "letters of administration with the will annexed" or "letters of administration cum testamento annexo" or "c.t.a.".

Essentially, this document is issued to the person who will administer the estate of someone who dies without a will. As outlined by the Cornell Legal Information Institute, "The letters authorize the administrator to settle the deceased person's estate according to the state's intestate succession laws. Banks, brokerages, and government agencies often require a certified copy of the letters before accepting the administrator's authority to collect the deceased person's assets."^[1] If a deceased has a surviving spouse, this individual will have priority in receiving a letter of administration over others, including children; age alone does not render an individual ineligible to serve as a fiduciary.