Grants of Representation:

To deal with the property of a deceased person the approval of the High Court must first be obtained. Approval is in the form of a Grant of Representation.

There are two main forms of Grants of Representation:
1. Grants of Probate- which are issued where the deceased died testate, that is, leaving a will in which an executor was appointed. This grant is made to the executor appointed in the will.
2. Grants of Letters of Administration- which are grants appointing an administrator for the estate of the deceased. They are issued where the deceased died testate leaving a will but not appointing an executor or where the executor appointed is for some reason unwilling or unable to Act.

Who is entitled to apply for a Grant?

Grants of probate or administration are made on the application of the intended executor or administrator to the High Court. The executor appointed in the will is entitled to apply for a Grant of Probate. Grants of Administration are generally issued to relatives of the deceased in order of their entitlement to the property of the estate, although in some circumstances the creditors of the deceased may apply.

Estate Duty Certificate:

A certificate evidencing payment of estate duty at the applicable rate must be issued before a Grant may be obtained. An application must be made to the Estate Duty section of the Inland Revenue Department for the issue of such certificate. The certificate must be obtained prior to the application for the Grant.

Applying for a Grant:

Applications are made by lodging the requisite documents in the Probate Section of the Registry of the Supreme Court. The application is addressed to the High Court and granted by the Registrar pursuant to the order of a judge.

Applications in respect of large estates (in excess of $25,000) are usually made by an attorney-at-law on behalf of the applicant.

The minimum period the issue of a Grant of representation is approximately 6 weeks.

Grants of Probate: Applications for grants of Probate are made ex parte by the named executor.
The documents required in making the application include:

• Application for grant- setting out a list of the documents lodged and signed by an attorney-at-law.
• Oath of executor
• Affidavit of due execution
• Statement of assets and liabilities
• Certificate of Proper Officer
• Original Will
• Certified copy of the Death Certificate

Grants of letters of administration: The persons entitle apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration are generally those entitled to benefit on intestacy. However, the court may appoint any person to administer the estate of an individual who died intestate where it considers it expedient to do so.

Applications for Grants of Letters of Administration are made through an attorney-at-law and must be accompanied by:

• Oath of Administrator
• Statement of assets and liabilities
• Certificate of proper officer
• Certified copy of Death Certificate
• Administrator’s Bond
• Justification of sureties
• Marriage/ Birth certificate, adoption order, affiliation order, affidavit of Kin
• Consent/ Notice

Entitlement to property on intestacy:

The rules governing intestate succession are set out in the Civil Law of Guyana Act, Cap. 6:01. Under this Act a surviving spouse is entitled to one-third of the intestate’s residuary estate and the rest is divided in equal parts among the intestate’s children.

Where the intestate had no children, one half of the estate goes to the surviving spouse and the remainder to his/her next of kin in order of priority.

Small Estates:

A small estate is one worth less than $25,000. Applications for the issue of a Grant are made with the assistance of the Registrar who prepares the necessary documents required by the court for a Grant of Representation.

The procedure for application is similar to that when applying in the case of a large estate, that is one valued at in excess of $25,000. The usual practice is that the Public Trustee is appointed administrator where the small estate of an individual who died intestate is administered without a Grant.

Estate Duty:

In order to obtain the Certificate of Proper Officer certain documents must be lodged in the Estate Division of the Inland Revenue Department. Estate Duty is calculated at a rate of half of one percent (0.5%) of the gross value of the estate.

Attorney Fees:

Attorneys charge a fee of 5% of the value of the estate.