Gratius Dei Chambers

02/02/2022

As part of our CSR & the need for strong & profitable businesses, we shall be offering free Legal and Business Advisory Services for Small businesses in Osogbo every friday, between 12noon and 3pm.

To book an appointment, send mail to [email protected]

T&C apply

01/02/2022

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory. – Mohandas Gandhi

Believe it is possible and you will achieve it.

Happy New Month from all of us

01/01/2022

Happy new year 2022. We pray for advancement and aggregation of God's blessings in your lives.

We wish you all the good, better and best things this new year.

Congratulations!

24/12/2021

2021 has been a fruitful and impactful year. We acknowledge your support and help in it all.

We wish you a healthy and merry Christmas and a prosperous and bright New Year 2022.

01/10/2021

Happy New Month of October

21/09/2021

Where there is no Will, There is a way!

Kele, a young boy still in the university has two young sisters still in secondary school, just recently lost his father to the cold hands of death. His father a retired pensioner who is yet to get his gratuity from government had some money in the account that could sustain Kele and his sisters and their mother until he gets a job. However, upon getting to the bank, Kele is truly the next of kin for the father but he was told he has no access to the account until he gets a letter of authority from government. He tried approaching the Pensions office in his state for his father's gratuity and he was told also that he needs letter of authority from government. Now Kele is in dilemma, he doesn't know what to do.

A lot of people out there are like Kele, who just lost one or both parents and have no access to the funds left behind. But do not be dismayed, you can actually approach government through the relevant agencies for the necessary letter of authority which is called "Letters of Adminstration" (hereinafter referred to as LA for short).

Letters of Administration is a document issued to close relatives or family members particularly the surviving spouse and children (or siblings of a dead person) in the event that the dead person has no written will or has no listed executors of his will. This document is issued by the Court.

Letters of Adminstration is actually the authority to pay that is issued to ensure that the estate (property or monies) of the dead person devolves to the relevant family member and properly managed. Like explained in the last paragraph, it could be given to the surving wife or children or siblings depending on the existing circumstances.

The law that guides this is the "Adminstration of Estates Law" of each state and it has a list of those who can administer the estate of a deceased person. There are two distinct approach to getting letters of administration.

1. The family upon agreeing can directly through their legal practitioner (which is mostly advised) approach the probate registry of the high court and fill relevant forms to obtain the Letters of Administration. There are generally two sets of forms and there are also fees attached to these forms.

2. The family can approach the office of the Administrator General and Public Trustee at the Ministry of Justice of their state and fill relevant forms and the Letters of Administration will be issued.

The difference between 1 and 2 above is that in 1, the Letters of Administration issued with the family members being the Administrators and Executors of the Estate (Property(s)) of the dead person, but in 2, the Administrator General is the Administrator and Trustee of the Estate of the dead person.

Please note that, number 2 is only advised when the family is not agreeing on who the trustees will be.

Also note that Estate duties will be paid which is usually 10% of the Value of the estate or the money in the account which ever option is picked.

So, to conclude on our case study, Kele and his Mother could approach the probate registry of the high court or in certain instances the Customary Court of Appeal of their state and apply for the Letters of Adminstration so that they can have the authority to access their fathers fund in his account and also to collect the gratuity on his behalf.

Kele could also approach the office of the Administrator General and Public Trustee at the Ministry of Justice of their State and fill the forms to get the Letters of Administration issued to them.

In both, there is no cause for alarm. But all they need to do is to follow due process.

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE note that the above does not constitute legal advice and Gratius Dei Chambers or any of its staff will not be held liable for any infraction or omission as a result of the above article. If you have any legal issue, do reach out to a qualified legal practitioner.

21/09/2021

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/where-way-gratius-dei-chambers

Kele, a young boy still in the university (with two young sisters still in secondary school) recently lost his father to the cold hands of death. His father a retired pensioner who is yet to get his gratuity from the government had some money in the account that could sustain Kele and his sisters an

12/08/2021

Before you buy that land!

So, you have worked over the years and saved a lot of money. Your financial advisors have asked you to invest your savings in the real estate sector and you also loved the idea coupled with the fact that a lot of persons have in the past reaped a lot of profit from owning a piece of land.

According to financial experts and investors, owning atleast a piece of land is one of the safest and rewarding investment. However before you buy that land, ensure you do the following:

1. Consult Your Legal Practitioner:
A lot of us make this mistake of only consulting legal practitioner when we have already paid for the land and it is time to prepare the sale agreement. The duty of the legal practitioner is to conduct search and know what and what's not about the land you are about to acquire. Certain questions will pop up, is the land a family land, or a government acquired land? Is the "Seller" the rightful owner and has proper title to the land?
Let me share an experience with you. It happened around 2016, one man came in from Lagos to Osogbo because he was told that land is a little bit cheap as against Lagos, however, he was sold portions of land already acquired by Osun State Government for the construction of Airport in Ido Osun, while we were trying to help him prepare the document, we discovered that and immediately made a request for the refund of his money. While doing that, he was offered another land by another person, and he said for it, cause to him the land is so cheap, we later discovered that the person who sold the land had no title and did not have the consent of the owner of the land to sell the land.
This experience and many more have become so rampant today, so before you delve into buying your land, check in with your legal practitioner.

2. Full Disclosure:
Please ensure that you give all necessary and full facts to the Legal Practitioner before any document is prepared. That the 'Seller' is your uncle or best friend or younger brother does not mean that the land is genuine or the 'Seller' has your best interest at heart. Give full facts as to location, boundaries and history of ownership of the land. For instance, a glance at the recital section of a land agreement should at its best give a full history of ownership of the land, but most times, we only find this clause "The Vendor is a beneficial owner of a large piece of land hereinafter described and has agreed to sell the land to the Purchaser". This clause is not a full disclosure of facts.

3. Be ready to pay the Legal Practitioner's full fee:
A lot of us run into problems and avoid due diligence because we do not want to pay the full fees of a legal practitioner, I hear often how people comment that is it not to just copy, paste and edit an existing agreement. No, it is not, there is no common land. Each with its distinct fact and circumstances. It takes an experienced legal practitioner to carefully sift through the facts and circumstances surrounding the environment of the land to finally help unravel whether the land is genuine or not. Drafting an agreement only comes after the full fact is known.

I agree that land appreciates daily and it is one of the lucrative business out there but if care is not taken and search conducted with due diligence, you will not only buy a land, you may also buy small wahala.

NB: This article does not in any way constitute legal advice. If you require any legal advice, kindly consult with a legal practitioner of your choice. T for thanks.

©️ Abimbola Akinyemi Esq.
Gratius Dei Chambers, Òsogbo.
08106647758; [email protected]