Obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration in the Isle of Man
When someone dies, any property they own at the date of their death forms their "estate". An estate may consist of real estate, personal possessions, money (in a bank or building society), investments, shares, money owed to the deceased and so forth. The assets in the estate will require "administration". This means that someone will need to be responsible for collecting in the estate assets, paying off any debts/liabilities, and distributing anything remaining in accordance with the relevant law.
In most instances, a person must have legal authority granted by the Court in the Isle of Man before they can deal with a deceased's Manx assets. This authority is known as a "grant of representation". "Probate" is a term that is often loosely used to refer to the process of obtaining a grant of representation, but a grant of representation is:-
if made to executors named in a will, called a "grant of probate"; or
if made to anyone else (whether there is a will or not) called a "grant of letters of administration".
Sometimes, for example if the value of the deceased's estate is small, or if all of the deceased's assets are held jointly (and pass by law to the surviving joint owner), a grant of representation will not be required. To find out whether a grant of representation is necessary in the Isle of Man, enquiries should be made with the institutions in which the deceased held assets on the Isle of Man.
The Isle of Man has its own legislation and probate rules that govern how to make (and who can make) an application for a grant of representation. In order to obtain a grant of representation, the applicants should file the following at the Isle of Man Courts of Justice:
the will and any codicil;
an application in statutory form;
a death certificate; and
a court filing fee (which is dependent upon the value of the estate in the Isle of Man).
The process can be more complicated if a deceased has died domiciled outside the Isle of Man, or there are international elements to the application. In such instances, the applicant may be required to submit additional documentation to the Court.
The Manx courts have exclusive jurisdiction over the administration of assets located in the Isle of Man. Even if a grant of representation has been obtained in another jurisdiction, this will have no standing in the Isle of Man. In order to make title to assets in the Isle of Man, a grant of representation made by the Manx court will be required before the relevant Manx institution will accept the authority of the personal representative to administer the deceased's assets.
Typically once an application has been lodged with the Court, the grant of representation will be issued within 4-6 weeks (if the estate is straightforward and the application has been completed correctly).
How we can help
We specialise in local, cross-border, and international estates, and can help to:-
prepare applications for grants of representation;
with the administration of estates; and
advise on challenges to the validity of wills, or claims for financial provision from the estate.
Please contact:
John Rimmer jr@advocatejr.com
Hollie Ranscombe hr@advocatejr.com
Ilsa Reeves ir@advocatejr.com
Tel: +44 (0)1624 621466 Address: Fort Anne, South Quay, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 5DP