The Administrator’s Survival Guide

| 27th October 2025

When there’s no will, the person handling the estate is called the Administrator.
Their job: sort the mess, stay sane, and avoid personal liability.

Step 1: Establish Your Right to Act

Only certain relatives can apply for Letters of Administration — following the same order as the intestacy rules.
If more than one person qualifies, they can apply jointly or nominate one administrator.

Step 2: Identify Who Might Inherit

Build a family tree and confirm relationships with birth and marriage certificates.
Where there are gaps (unknown siblings, long-lost children), you’re expected to make reasonable enquiries.

Step 3: Protect Yourself – Section 27 Notices

Under the Trustee Act 1925, Section 27, administrators can publish a public notice:

  • Once in The Gazette (official record).
  • Once in a local newspaper.

The notice invites creditors or potential heirs to make claims within two months.
If no one responds, you can safely distribute the estate without personal liability — even if someone emerges later.

Step 4: Use Professionals Where Needed

  • Probate genealogists (or “heir hunters”) can confirm the family tree and find missing relatives.
  • Missing Beneficiary Insurance covers you if someone later appears with a valid claim.
  • Costs come from the estate — not your own pocket.

Step 5: The DNA Curveball

With millions on DNA databases, it’s entirely plausible that an “illegitimate” or previously unknown child appears years later.
If they can legally prove parentage, they have a claim — but if you’ve placed your Section 27 notices and acted reasonably, you’re personally protected.

Step 6: The Practical Checklist

  1. Apply for Letters of Administration.
  2. Verify the family tree.
  3. Publish Section 27 notices.
  4. Wait two months.
  5. Consider genealogists or insurance for complex estates.
  6. Only then, distribute the estate.

Step 7: If You Skip the Steps

Fail to advertise or investigate properly, and you could face a claim years later — with personal liability.
Even worse, you’ll have to explain to your siblings why their inheritance just evaporated.

Being an Administrator isn’t a title anyone wants, but it’s a vital one. Do it properly, and you can sleep at night. Skip the formalities, and you’ll be haunted not by ghosts — but by lawyers.

Back to The Lost Will, the Family Tree and the DNA Test That Changed Everything