Voluntary administrator

What it means

Several states let a relative file a short statement with the probate court and then act for a small estate. The word administrator is doing a lot of work: in Massachusetts the court's own guide says filing the statement does not result in an official appointment, and no certificate of appointment can issue.

What arrives instead is an attested copy of the statement, which is what a bank is shown.

Why it matters

Institutions that want to see letters may not recognize the document, and a family that expected letters is surprised at the counter.

The powers are narrower than a personal representative's. Massachusetts names one consequence directly: somebody who needs the deceased's medical records may have to seek a real appointment instead.

When you are likely to meet it

• In Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other states that use the term for a small-estate route.
• When a probate court hands back an attested copy rather than letters.

How this varies by state

Only some states use this route, and the powers attached to it differ where they do.

Related terms

• Estate accountA bank account in the estate's own name. Estate money must not pass through anybody's personal account.
• Letters of administrationThe court document proving somebody has been appointed to handle an estate where there is no will.
• Personal representativeThe neutral term for whoever is authorized to act for an estate, whether named in a will or appointed by a court.
• Probate courtThe court that supervises estates. In many states it is a division of a general trial court and goes by another name.
• Small-estate affidavitA sworn statement a state allows instead of a full probate case for an estate under its ceiling. What it is called, what it reaches and whether a court is involved differ by state.
• Summary administrationA shortened court procedure for smaller or simpler estates, with fewer steps and less supervision than full administration.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Small estate procedures