Letters
The court's certificate that somebody has been appointed to act for an estate: letters testamentary when there is a will, letters of administration when there is not.
What it means
When somebody dies, a court has to decide who may act for what they left behind: sign for it, collect it, sell it, pay from it. The document the court issues to that person is called the letters.
It is a certificate, not correspondence. If the will named the person, the court issues letters testamentary. If there is no will, or the will named nobody who can serve, it issues letters of administration. Several states use a different name, and some issue one document for both situations.
Institutions ask for it by name and keep the certified copy they are handed, which is why the useful number to order is several.
Why it matters
Nothing that needs the estate's authority moves without it. A bank, a title office and a transfer agent each want to see the letters before they act.
Being named in a will is not the same as holding the letters. The naming is a nomination; the letters are the appointment.
When you are likely to meet it
- When a form or an institution asks for 'letters testamentary or letters of administration' and you have to know which you are getting.
- When a Handbook step says a thing can start once you have the letters.
How this varies by state
The name differs by state, and several states issue a single document for both the with-a-will and no-will cases.