What are letters of administration?
Letters of administration are a grant of representation from the Probate Registry. They are issued where someone dies without a valid will, and they prove to banks, buyers and HM Land Registry that the people named on them can sign for the estate. Whether an estate needs a grant at all depends on what the person owned and how they owned it; when is probate needed sets that out.
An executor is named in a will and takes authority from it on the day of death; the grant of probate confirms that authority. An administrator is appointed by the grant itself and has no authority until it issues; until then the property vests in the Public Trustee (Administration of Estates Act 1925 section 9, checked 26 September 2026). In practice that means an administrator cannot bind the estate to a sale and should not exchange contracts on the property until the grant has issued. Nor can they close accounts or settle debts while the application is pending, and the buyer's representative in any sale will want the sealed grant before exchange.
The other difference is discretion. An executor follows the will. An administrator follows the intestacy rules to the letter, and has no power to depart from them, however unfair the result looks. The only lawful ways to change the outcome are a claim by someone left out, or a deed of variation signed by the people who would otherwise benefit, within two years of the death.
Who inherits when there is no will?
Section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 sets the order. A spouse or civil partner comes first and, where there are children, takes the personal possessions, a fixed statutory legacy, and half of whatever remains. The children share the other half, held on trust for them until they reach 18. The statutory legacy is £322,000 where the death was on or after 26 July 2023, and was £270,000 for a death from 6 February 2020 to 25 July 2023, under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Orders of 2023 and 2020, checked 20 September 2026. It carries interest from the date of death until it is paid. Where there are no children the spouse takes everything, and the parents and siblings of the person who died receive nothing.
With no spouse, the estate passes down the family tree in a fixed order, and each class must be exhausted before the next is reached. Children share equally, including adopted children and children from any relationship. Adopted children count as children of their adoptive parents. Stepchildren who were never adopted do not count at all. Grandchildren inherit only in place of a parent who died first. With no children either, the estate goes to the parents if either is alive; if not, to brothers and sisters of the whole blood, then half-siblings, grandparents, and aunts and uncles, in that fixed order. If nobody in the order survives, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia, unless the last address of the person who died was in the County Palatine of Lancaster or in Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), when it passes to the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duke of Cornwall, under section 46(1)(vi) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (checked 26 September 2026). The Crown or the Duchy may make discretionary grants to people the deceased might reasonably have been expected to provide for.
Separation on its own changes nothing. Until a final order of divorce or dissolution is made, a separated spouse inherits exactly as a spouse who was still living with the person who died. The one exception short of divorce is a judicial separation order (for civil partners, a separation order) that is in force while the couple are still living apart at the death: the estate then passes as if the spouse or civil partner had died first (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 section 18(2); Civil Partnership Act 2004 section 57, checked 26 September 2026). An unmarried partner, however long the relationship, receives nothing under the rules.
Where the person who died lived abroad, or owned assets in more than one country, the rules can split. For land and buildings in England and Wales, entitlement follows the rules of England and Wales; other assets may follow the law of the country where the person was domiciled at death. That split between immovables, which follow the law of the place where they are, and movables, which follow the law of the domicile, is the long-standing common law rule here, and the United Kingdom did not opt in to the EU Succession Regulation, so a European certificate of succession does not decide it either.
| Family left behind | Who inherits | Who may apply |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse or civil partner, no children | Spouse takes everything | Spouse |
| Spouse or civil partner and children | Spouse: possessions, statutory legacy, half the rest. Children: the other half | Spouse first, then children |
| Children, no spouse | Children equally; grandchildren in place of a child who died first | Children, up to four together |
| No spouse, no children | Parents, then whole-blood siblings, then half-siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles | Whoever is first in that order |
| Unmarried partner only | Nothing under the rules; a claim under the 1975 Act is the only route | Whoever is entitled under the rules, not the partner |
| No surviving relatives | The Crown as bona vacantia, or the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duke of Cornwall where the last address was in the County Palatine of Lancaster or in Cornwall | No family member is entitled |
Who can apply for letters of administration?
Rule 22 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 sets the order of who may apply, and it follows the order of entitlement: a spouse or civil partner first, then children, then parents, then brothers and sisters, and so on down the family. An application by a child while a spouse is alive and has not renounced is returned. Where several people share an equal right, such as adult children, any of them may apply alone or with the others.
Up to four administrators may be named on the grant, under section 114(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981. Where a beneficiary is under 18 or a life interest arises, section 114(2) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 requires the grant to go to at least two individuals or a trust corporation, unless the court considers a sole administrator expedient; rule 8(4) of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 requires the application to say whether such an interest arises (checked 26 September 2026). A minority interest arises where someone under 18 inherits, which is common on an intestacy with young children.
Someone with a prior right who does not want to act signs a renunciation, and the next person in line applies. Someone who cannot be traced, or who will not sign anything, is dealt with by a citation or an application to pass over them under section 116 of the Senior Courts Act 1981, and the Registry needs evidence of the steps taken. Both are non-contentious business for as long as nobody opposes them. Once one is opposed it becomes contested court work, and the family needs independent legal advice.
How do you apply for letters of administration?
Start with the will search, because an estate administered as intestate when a valid will existed has to be unpicked, and the administrators can be personally liable to the people the will named. Make reasonable enquiries with the family, the deceased's bank and any previous advisers, and search a national will register. The government's Find a Will service on gov.uk covers wills that have already been proved, and a commercial will register search covers wills that were registered but never proved. Keep a note of what was checked.
Then confirm entitlement down the rule 22 order, collect a signed renunciation from anyone with a prior right who will not act, and gather the birth, marriage and death certificates that prove the relationship. Value every asset and liability at the date of death, deal with inheritance tax as the next section explains, and submit form PA1A to the Probate Registry with the statement of truth signed by every administrator. An ordinary application needs no administration bond or guarantee, although section 120 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 lets the court require sureties in a particular case.
The documents needed are the death certificate, evidence of the relationship to the person who died, birth, marriage or civil partnership certificates as appropriate, a list of every asset and liability with its value at the date of death, and photo ID for each administrator. Any renunciation goes in with the application.
| Step | What happens | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Search for a will | Enquiries with family, bank and advisers; a will register search | An intestacy administered when a will existed has to be reversed |
| 2. Confirm who may apply | Work down the rule 22 order; collect renunciations and certificates | An application by the wrong person is returned |
| 3. Value the estate | Date-of-death figures for every asset and liability | Decides whether inheritance tax is due and how it is reported |
| 4. Deal with inheritance tax | Excepted-estate figures on the application, or form IHT400 first | Tax due generally has to be paid, or arranged, before the grant |
| 5. Apply on form PA1A | Submitted to the Probate Registry with the signed statement of truth | No administration bond or guarantee in an ordinary application |
| 6. Grant issued | Sealed copies of the letters of administration arrive | GOV.UK says usually within 12 weeks of the application, longer where more information is needed or the application is on paper (checked 26 September 2026) |
How does inheritance tax work when there is no will?
The same nil-rate band and spouse exemption apply as where there is a will. What changes is who inherits: because only the spouse's share is exempt, an intestacy that splits the estate between a spouse and children can produce a tax bill that a will leaving everything to the spouse would have avoided. Where inheritance tax is due it generally has to be paid, or arranged, before the grant can issue.
The values are reported either as excepted-estate information on the probate application or on a full account, form IHT400, first. Where the person who died was widowed, the unused nil-rate band of the spouse who died earlier can be transferred. For deaths on or after 1 January 2022 that claim goes on the probate application rather than on an IHT402 where the estate is excepted, under the Inheritance Tax (Delivery of Accounts) (Excepted Estates) Regulations 2004 as amended by SI 2021/1167. Only a claim to transfer unused nil rate band from more than one earlier spouse or civil partner takes the estate outside the excepted-estate route; an estate within a single nil rate band needs no claim at all. Checked 20 September 2026. The earlier spouse's estate must also meet the conditions in those regulations, and the claim must be made within two years from the end of the month of death or, if later, three months from when the administrators first act (Inheritance Tax Act 1984 section 8B(3), checked 26 September 2026); HMRC accepts a later claim only at its discretion, and then on a full IHT400. HMRC's guidance on gov.uk sets out which route applies, and an estate near the threshold is worth putting in front of a tax adviser before anything is filed.
How long do letters of administration take?
GOV.UK says the grant usually issues within 12 weeks of the application, longer where more information is needed or the application is on paper (checked 26 September 2026). Before that comes the preparation: the will search, the certificates and renunciations, and the values. Intestacies often take a little longer than probate because renunciations and certificates have to be gathered first.
What decides the total is how many people share an equal right to apply and whether any need to renounce, whether inheritance tax is payable and how quickly it can be funded, how quickly the certificates that prove entitlement can be obtained, and the Registry's processing times on the day. How long does probate take sets out the stages after the grant.
What can administrators do once they hold the grant?
With sealed copies in hand, the administrators can collect the assets, pay the debts, sell the property and distribute strictly in accordance with the intestacy rules. Before the grant they can do very little. Contracts signed, assets sold or debts settled beforehand can be challenged; securing and insuring the property are the things that can safely happen in the meantime.
A house in the sole name of the person who died cannot be sold or transferred until the grant issues. Once it has, the administrators can sell it, or pass it to the person the rules entitle by an assent on form AS1, which goes to HM Land Registry with the grant. A home owned as joint tenants is different: it passed to the survivor outside the intestacy rules, no grant is needed for it, and the deceased's name comes off the register on form DJP with the death certificate. Joint tenants versus tenants in common explains why the form of ownership matters.
Paying the wrong people is the costly mistake. A cohabiting partner, a stepchild or a close friend receives nothing under intestacy, however clear the deceased's wishes were, and an administrator who pays them anyway is personally liable to the people who were entitled. Distributing too early carries the same risk, because a claim under the 1975 Act can be brought after the grant, so administrators decide at the outset how much to hold back and for how long.
What can an unmarried partner do if they are left out?
Bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. A partner who lived with the deceased as husband and wife, or as civil partners, throughout the two years ending with the death can ask the court for reasonable financial provision under section 1(1A), and the claim must normally be issued within six months of the date on which representation is first taken out under section 4, which the court can extend. That deadline is one reason administrators are advised not to distribute the estate too early. A 1975 Act claim is contested court work, and a partner in that position needs advice from a solicitor who brings such claims.
The other route needs no court. The people who would otherwise inherit can sign a deed of variation within two years of the death, giving the partner a share. Where the home was owned jointly, the answer may be simpler still: a property held as joint tenants passes to the survivor outside the intestacy rules altogether, so the register is worth reading before anyone assumes the partner is left with nothing.