Obtaining a Grant of Letters of Administration is the process required to administer the estate of a person who has died without having made a Will, i.e. intestate. Under that procedure, the next of kin will need to apply for administration of the deceased’s estate. The process involves identifying who is entitled to apply for the Grant and who is entitled to benefit pursuant to the provisions of the Intestates’ Estates Ordinance.

 

Obtaining a Grant of Letters of Administration usually takes up to 8 to 12 months.

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In cases where a person died domiciled outside of Hong Kong, the application becomes more complicated as the Probate Court needs to satisfy that the Hong Kong estate will be administered according to the law of the place where the deceased died domiciled.  Such process may sometimes take 12 to 18 months to complete.