A will or testament is a legal declaration by which an individual, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property after his death. A will usually sets out stipulations as to how a person’s real property and also his personal property is to be managed or shared when he or she dies.

When a person dies and leaves a will, a probate proceeding must be held in court, to both determine the validity of the will, and also to give the executor legal authority to carry out the requests stipulated in the will. Probate proceedings may also be used to identify an executor, where one was not identified by the testator.

Where a person passes away without leaving a will, the Administrator General must issue letters of administration in the names of the beneficiaries who have all agreed to share the property.

For its clients needing legal support to carry out these procedures, ANA &CO will :

• Assist with the drafting of wills to ensure that they are set out properly and have been signed and witnessed
• Prepare documents for filing before the Supreme Court, in probate cases
• Apply to have the executor named on titles or in the case of personal property, contact relevant agencies, for example banks to ensure that the gifts are distributed out as stipulated by the testator
• Apply to the Administrator General for letters of administration, in instances where individuals die without leaving wills and there is property to be shared