ESTATE ADMINISTRATION AND PROBATE PRACTICE IN NIGERIA: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION

Abstract

This paper titled Estate Administration and Probate Practice in Nigeria attempts to examine the
legal procedure of administration of Estates, whether testate or intestate in Nigeria. Administration
of estate, no doubt, constitutes an essential aspect of the legal system regulating succession,
inheritance and of course the transmission of proprietary interest in an estate. It is imperative to
examine because of the fragility of the process in order to avoid protracted litigation and throwing
the dependent family and dependents apart. The paper adopted the doctrinal method of research
methodology. By way of clarification, The papers highlighted on the major terms, inter alia,
administration, estate, estate administration, executors respectively. It further considered the types
of probate, which includes the contentious and non-contentious probate. In Nigeria, the
administration of estates is conducted through judicial and administrative processes that authorize
personal representatives to administer the estate of deceased persons either in accordance with a
valid testamentary disposition or under the applicable rules governing intestate succession. The
administration of estates and probate practice occupy a central position in the legal regulation of
succession and inheritance by providing the institutional and procedural framework for the orderly
transfer of proprietary interests upon death. In other to effectively interrogate the subject under
consideration some judicial and statutory sources were x-rayed amongst others, the administration
of law of Lagos state, administration estates law of Rivers state, wills act and wills law of Lagos
state respectively. The paper concluded by giving out some recommendations such as
modernization and full digitization of probate registries across all states in Nigeria, probate
administration should be restructured to ensure greater procedural efficiency, increased
transparency and accountability within probate registries, judicial enforcement of constitutional
protections against discriminatory customary inheritance practices, and improved access to
probate administration are necessary to strengthen public confidence and enhance the effective
administration of estates.