Essien Esema & Associates

Essien Esema & Associates ESSIEN ESEMA & ASSOCIATES is a premier law firm providing a comprehensive range of legal services and solutions for Nigerian and international clients.

continuation from previous post** while the procedure for the grant of the right to administer the estate of deceased pe...
20/09/2019

continuation from previous post** while the procedure for the grant of the right to administer the estate of deceased persons is governed by the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules of each state of the federation.
The Administration of Estates Law of Lagos State was a result of adoption of a similar Administration of Estates Law of Former Western State of Nigeria.
The Administration of Estates Laws and the Probate Rules of Procedure are made with the intent to forestall the properties left behind by deceased persons from falling into the hands of unscrupulous persons and particularly those the deceased would not ordinarily wished to inherit his or her properties.
The Administration of Estates Laws do not apply to the distribution, inheritance or succession of the Estate of a deceased person, whose affairs were regulated by customary law during his or her lifetime. The Administration of Estate laws in Nigeria provides a legal system of administration of the estate of the deceased persons, which entails the verification of the claims of persons claiming to be entitled to the estate of deceased persons and subsequently grant the authority or power to administer the estate to the persons who have passed through the verification process at the Probate Registry.
• PROBATE SERVICES IN NIGERIA
• Grant of probate where the testator is domiciled outside Nigeria
Where the testator was domiciled outside Nigeria, the EXECUTORS named in the Will shall be entitled to probate unless the court makes a contrary order that probate be granted to any of the following:
a) Executors
b) Persons entrusted with the administration of the estate by the court.
c) Persons entitled to administer the estate by law
d) Such persons as the judge may direct.
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•to be continued...
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• Do you have any questions, comments, or observations?? Do well by letting us know in the comment Section and we will reply accordingly.

3/4 Probate is obtained in the case of testate succession, while letters of administration is obtained with respect to i...
20/09/2019

3/4 Probate is obtained in the case of testate succession, while letters of administration is obtained with respect to intestate succession and testate succession in some instances. While it is possible to obtain letters of administration for testate succession, it is impossible to obtain probate for intestate succession.
Even though an executor derives his powers and authority from a Will, probate is the authority that validates such powers. Thus probate confirms the power of the executor to act.
• PROBATE REGISTRY IN NIGERIA
Probate is usually granted upon an application made to the Probate Registrar by an interested person, either personally or through his legal practitioner.
In Lagos or Rivers state, all applications for grant of probate or letter of administration shall be made to the Probate Registrar of the High Court in that State. The same process is followed in Abuja, where similar application must be made to the Registrar of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
• TIME OF GRANT
In Abuja, probate or letters of administration with Will annexed shall not be issued within seven (7) days from the death of the testator; and, probate letters of administration without Will annexed shall not be issued within fourteen (14) days from the death of the deceased.
In Lagos, on the other hand, probate or letters of administration with Will annexed shall not be issued within fourteen (14) days from the death of the testator; and, letters of administration without Will annexed shall not be issued within TWENTY-ONE (21) days from the death of the deceased.
• WHO IS ENTITLED TO GRANT OF PROBATE?
Where a person dies testate, the power to apply for probate lies in the Executor or Executors. However, where the executors renounce probate or are unavailable, letters of administration with the Will annexed will be granted to some other persons in the order of priority as provided for under the law.
• PROBATE LAWS IN NIGERIA
The law which regulates the estates of the deceased persons is the Administration of Estates Laws of the states of the federation of Nigeria, while the procedure for the grant of the right to administer the estate of deceased persons is governed.

Now , Probate practice deals with the procedure of administration of the estate of the deceased after his death.Probate ...
20/09/2019

Now , Probate practice deals with the procedure of administration of the estate of the deceased after his death.Probate can either be contentious or non-contentious. These may also regarded as Probate in solemn form and Probate in common form. It is contentious or Probate in solemn form where the Grant is obtained after a court proceeding, and Probate in common form where the Grant is undisputed and as such, does not have a Probate action arising from a dispute (non-contentious Probate not involving any judicial proceeding).Therefore, probate also can be referred to the procedure for grant of probate and letters of administration in both contentious and non-contentious cases. Probate or letters of administration are required for the administration of the estate of a deceased.
It is noteworthy that there are basically three (3) types of grants in administration of the estate of a deceased. They are:
1) Grant of Probate (Will + Executors): this is granted where the deceased died testate, leaving a valid Will with executors who are willing, capable and available to act validly appointed under the Will. Here the executors have been appointed under the Will. The main concern of the court is to grant probate to the executors named in the Will to administer the estate.
2) Grant of administration with Will annexed (valid Will – executors; or valid Will + unwilling executors; or valid Will + executors absent; or valid Will + executors died before application for probate). Here, the deceased died testate (leaving a Will), but failed to appoint executors under the Will or the executors appointed renounce probate or are incapable of applying for probate (incapacity or out of jurisdiction) or have long died or are infants etc. In such cases the court is concerned with the grant of letters of administration to persons who are interested in the estate to administer the estate of the testator.
3) Grant of simple administration – this could arise where the deceased died without leaving a Will at all (total intestacy) or where some part of his estate is not covered by the Will and there is no residuary clause (partial intestacy) or where the Will is declared invalid. *next post

WHERE THERE IS A WILL 1/2Today we will be discussing Probate . We can’t talk about probate without discussing a little ...
20/09/2019

WHERE THERE IS A WILL 1/2

Today we will be discussing Probate . We can’t talk about probate without discussing a little about wills. Firstly, A will is a legal document written by a person (testator) that contains instructions of his or her wishes to be carried out after his/her death. This is the simplified definition of a WILL. But a statutory definition of a will according to the Wills Act 1837 states that:
“A will is a testamentary document voluntarily made and executed according to law by a testator of sound mind, where he disposes his properties (real or personal) to beneficiaries to take effect after his death.”

BENEFITS OF WRITING A WILL
There are a plethora of reasons and benefits of writing a will. The first major benefit is that one can be assured while still alive that upon demise, the loved ones will be catered for as if one is still alive to provide for them. Second, writing a will allows someone to express his or her feelings and opinions with the will and thereby reduces friction among beneficiaries.
A person who makes a will determines the fate of his or her family and disposes of any assets rather than leaving such important issues to the sometimes cold and unfeeling hands of the law. In the words of James Calvi and Susan Coleman
“ No one has a better understanding of a persons wishes in this regard than the person herself, despite what clairvoyants and mediums proclaim, the law is skeptical of communication “beyond the grave” and will not give effect to any post-death property dispositions”.
Executing a will is a confession of mortality that none of us particularly enjoys making. That explains, probably the feet-dragging attitude over this issue even among the rich and the educated ones. Frequently only one spouse goes to law office for the initial conference on the proposed Will. Next post*

01/06/2019

one who can type processes, attend to clients waiting for lawyers, filing of processes, must posses good command of English. one who has a little knowledge of the law

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