Treash:
PROBATE
Probate means a legal document which an Executor obtains after a Will has been read. A testator is someone who makes a Will before his death.
A testator may opt to deposit his Will to Probate registry either personally or through his lawyer. Whichever way, it is expedient to obtain an Acknowledgement Letter from the registry which indicates official proof of lodgement. Upon death, the family of the testator proceeds to the registry after 7 days through his solicitor, and apply for the Will to be read. But where there are uncertainty whether or not a Will is made, they can conduct search at the registry.
LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION.
Whereas, a Letter of Administration applies where there's no Will. A Letter of Administration is a legal document obtained from a court by a Next-of-Kin to enable him/her have access to and administer the estate of a deceased. Where there is no Will, the next of kin applies to the registry for Letter of Administration to manage the property of the deceased. The next of Kin is either appointed by the deceased in his lifetime or by family members upon his death. The law provided for minimum of two next of kin and maximum of 4. The exemption to a 'sole next of kin', is where the applicant is the only spouse and the marriage was contracted under the Marriage Act. Usually, it is expected that a widow or widower should be the one to process a Letter of Administration in respect of a deceased spouse’s estate. However, where the marriage was not conducted under the Marriage Act, then, the widow or widower will have to process the Letters of Administration with one of his/her children thereby making it two Next-of-Kins.
If there are no children in the marriage and the marriage was not conducted under the Act, the deceased’s family can nominate a member of the family to be the second Next-of-Kin.
Two other circumstances where an individual could be allowed to apply as a sole Next-of-Kin are:
👉If such an individual has been introduced by the deceased person’s office as his/her Next-of-Kin as contained in the deceased’s Record of Service and;
👉If such a person can prove to the court that he/she is the only surviving relation of the deceased person.
REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT OF LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION.
Death Certificate: This is sole proof of the death of the deceased. Death certificate from a credible hospital should be produced. In practice, some state probate registries demand for death certificate from the National Population Commission.
Publication: This is a legal notice from the probate registry, informing the general public of the death of the deceased and that someone has approached the court to apply for Letter of Administration. The notice runs for 21 days, and where there is no Caveat, the court grants the Letter of Administration. But when caveat is raised, the court will suspend the grant.
What is Caveat?
A caveat is a legal notice lodged with the Probate Registry that prevents the grant of letters of administration or probate (depending on whether the deceased died with or without a will) to the proposed administrator/executor until the issue raised in the caveat is resolved.
Barr. Adeolu Ayo Aderinto. 
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