Navigating Probate with Estate Administration Lawyers in Brisbane. Best Estate Administration Lawyers | Wills & Estates | QLD Estate Lawyers. If a person passes away without a valid will, a family member or next of kin can apply to the court for authority to collect and distribute their assets. Such authority is called "letters of administration on intestacy" and is issued by the Supreme Court. Banks will require letters of administration to be obtained before they will release any bank funds from the deceased's accounts, in these circumstances. Where there is a will but no executor named or able to act (eg they have died or do not want to act), someone else can apply to the court for “letters of administration with the will” instead of the grant of probate that is given to an executor.
The court will grant letters of administration to a spouse or child of the deceased or even someone to whom the deceased owes money. If the person named in the will as executor has died or is unwilling to act, someone else can apply to the court for what would have been, had the executor applied for it - a grant of probate.