letters of administration

1 9.5

Court paper that lets someone manage a dead person's money and property when no one is named

noun
/ˈlɛtərz əv əˌdʌnɪˈstreɪʃən/

Formal

: cartas de administración

The collection contains the letter of administration for Adams's estate on November 2, 1885.

Examples

Before distributing the assets, she needed to obtain letters of administration from the judge.
Basic genealogical information of each individual, especially regarding their death, is included, as well as references to the City of Savannah and Chatham County records such as probate court records, wills, minutes, estate accounts, and letters of administration.

Academic text (2007)
The court issued letters of administration to allow him to manage his father's estate.
In the absence of an executor, the family applied for letters of administration to settle the estate.

Surface Forms

letter of administration singular

letters of administration plural

Morphology

letters + of + administration

The components 'letters' (documents/written items) and 'administration' (management/official administration) give a general sense of 'official documents about administration', so a learner who knows the words could guess it's paperwork related to administration. However, the specific legal meaning — a court-issued authority to administer a deceased person's estate when no executor exists — is specialized legal jargon and not fully predictable from the parts for a B1 learner, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Letters of administration comes from old court practice. Back then letters meant official papers and administration meant 'to manage' a dead person's money and property. That's why today it refers to the court document that lets someone take care of an estate when there is no will.