When someone dies in Nigeria leaving behind real property, his survivors will have to obtain the authority from Court know as “Letter of Administration” before they can legally inherit, manage or dispose the property he left behind. Bellow are the procedure on how to obtain that authority.
- Take inventory – The first thing you need to do if you want to process a letter of administration to enable you have access to your deceased relative’s property is inventory. You can do so by searching through his documents and other relevant places to gather information concerning the property. You have to be diligent to ascertain all his asset because you will be required to list them at the probate office.
- Get the property document – you need the property document to obtain a letter of administration. Ensure you have access to the deceased property document, it will equally help you to know the location of the property and the particular Court to approach.
- Make application to the probate registry – the next step is to proceed to the High Court where the property is located and make your application to the probate registry. The application should be accompanied with the inventory, the property document, your personal details and the details of the deceased person including his death certificate.
- Carry out newspaper publication – after making formal application to the probate registry it is usually followed by publication of the application in the newspaper. The publication is to draw the attention of the public to the application with the intention of alerting anyone who may have a contrary interest or claim over the deceased property. A period of 21 days is usually allowed within which anyone with a contrary interest or claim can enter a caveat to challenge the application. If no caveat is entered within the stipulated period then the process will continue.
- Confirmation of the property documents – before the grant of letter of administration the court will need to confirm the authenticity of the property documents. The court will therefore write to the particular authority that allocated the property or where the property document emanated from and get a positive reply before the process will continue.
- Valuation of the property – in some states there is need for the property to be valued for the purpose of ascertaining the actual amount to be paid by the applicant before the grant is made. The valuation is usually done by a registered Surveyor approved by the court.
- Payment for the grant - the final stage for the grant of a letter of administration is the payment of prescribed fees. In some states the amount to be paid is a particular percentage calculated from the property value while in other states the payment is a flat rate and paid according to the number of property involve. After the payment and final documentation the letter of administration is granted
SUMMARY
Before you can successfully apply for grant of a letter of administration you must either be among the people named by the deceased person as his executors in a will or you are among his next of kin as described by the law. For a successful application you have to do the following:
- Take inventory
- Get the property document
- Make application to the probate registry
- Carry out newspaper publication
- Ensure the confirmation of the property documents
- Carry out Valuation of the property
- Pay the prescribed fees
