A probate court order appointing an administrator of an intestate estate. Contrast with letters testamentary, which is a probate court order approving the testamentary nomination of an executor. That is, letters of administration and letters testamentary both serve to put someone in charge of the management and distribution of a decedent’s estate, but letters of administration refer to that appointment when the decedent dies without a will, while the letters testamentary refer to that appointment when the decedent dies with a will.
[Last updated in December of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team]