Succession trust: Lagos AG seeks swift issuance of letter of administration 

By Adebisi Onanuga

Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice,  Moyosore Onigbanjo, has urged stakeholders in estate planning and succession trust to come up with strategies to expedite the process of obtaining a letter of administration.

Onigbanjo gave the charge at a Stakeholder’s Roundtable entitled:  “The issues with wealth transfer Process under the court supervised system in Nigeria”.

The Attorney-General said it was  important that families of deceased persons be advised to act swiftly by starting the process of obtaining Letters of Administration,which must be granted not later than six months from the date of application.

According to him, without the letter, bank accounts held by such deceased persons will become dormant and inoperable within six months after their demise and the administrative process of regaining access to such accounts and the funds in them  is cumbersome.

Onigbanjo, who was represented by the Lagos State Administrator-General and Public Trustee, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, said: “The major issue or challenge that arises through wealth transfer is the failure of beneficiaries in applying to court for grant of probate or letters of administration within one month of the demise of the deceased as stipulated under the “section  13 of the Administrator-General Law of Lagos State 2015.

He also identified problems associated with tracing the assets of the deceased as another issue causing delay.

“A deceased, during his lifetime, may acquire assets without informing the immediate family members. Also, a big issue is the beneficiaries not knowing where to go for information either at the Probate  court or the Office of the Administrator-General and Public Trustee,” he added.

He recommended that the flat rate of duty imposed on estates should be reconsidered.

He also said the threshold as stated in Section 1 of the Administration of Small Estates Law of Lagos State, 2015 should be also be increased from N100,000 to N1 million.

Earlier, the head of Valuation, Lagos State Probate Registry, Mrs. G. N. Otunmunye, said estate planning and succession was broad and involved many professionals from diverse fields.

She said the roundtable brought  stakeholders  together to find solutions to problems.