An explanation of Wills, Probate and Admons ******************************************* A will traditionally consists of two separate documents, namely the will and testament. These two documents were necessary under the medieval feudal system because it was not possible to will (bequeath) any property (land, estates etc. but not goods and chattels) that had been acquired by inheritance and not by purchase. Although the general principle of having both documents still applies today, this distinction is seldom observed and all bequeaths are usually combined into a single document of a 'Will'. The Will ******** Common law stated that all property (land, estates etc. but not goods and chattels) should pass automatically to the deceased's heir, the eldest son (primogeniture, see below). The only exceptions occurred in cases of gavelkind (all sons inherit equally, see below) and under "Borough English" (youngest son is the heir, see below). The Testament ************* The testament dealt with movable personal property (goods and chattels) which could be left as a legacy to anyone with the proviso that one third passed to the widow and one third to the children. The Probate *********** In common-law jurisdictions, administration of an estate on death arises if the deceased is legally intestate, meaning they did not leave a will, or some assets are not disposed of by their will. Where a person dies leaving a will appointing an executor, and that executor validly disposes of the property of the deceased within England and Wales, then the estate will go to probate. However, if no will is left, or the will is invalid or incomplete in some way, then administrators must be appointed. They perform a similar role to the executor of a will but, where there are no instructions in a will, the administrators must distribute the estate of the deceased according to the rules laid down by statute and the common trust. Over 250 different ecclesiastical courts dealt with Wills. In the period prior to 1858 the country was divided into two provinces, York and Canterbury. The associated courts were the Prerogative Courts of Canterbury and York (or Archbishop's prerogative courts). The two provinces were split into a number of dioceses (districts, each with at least two bishops). These in turn were divided into several archdeaconries, which were then split into rural deaneries. If a person was relatively poor, then the estate was usually dealt with in the archdeacon's court. The will of a person with goods in more than one archdeaconry was proved in the bishop's diocesan court. There were also various other courts, known as "peculiars", administered by the deans and chapters of cathedrals. Peculiars remain a remnant of the power structures of medieval England. A peculiar covered an area exempt from the jurisdiction of the bishop in whose diocese it lay and therefore controlled probate matters. A peculiar could cover a single parish or a number of non-adjacent parishes stretching across county boundaries. A variety of peculiars existed with distinct jurisdiction as follows: Ecclesiastical/Cathedral (Under the authority of a Dean or Dean and Chapter of a cathedral) Manorial (Managed by the lord of the manor) Liberties (Former abbeys and monasteries) Parish/Town University (Applied to Universities granted the right of self-government) Royal Peculiars Until the 12th of January 1858, all wills had to be proved by the church and the other courts. A judge had to approve a will to ensure that it contains the last wishes of the deceased. In cases, where there was no will, the next-of-kin was given the authority to distribute the Intestate's estate. (Intestacy is the condition of the estate of the deceased, who owns property greater than the sum of their debts and expenses, but does not have a valid will) Post 1858 On the 12th of January 1858, the Principal Probate Registry was established. This new registry keeps a copy of every will provided as well as copies of letters of administration. The index to these records, known as the National Probate Calendar, is available to consult at the London Probate Department. Most sections of the National Probate Calendar for 1858 to 1966 are now available at ancestry.co.uk. After the Principal Probate was established, the responsibility for probates was transferred from the complex system of church courts to a simpler system of civil probate registries. Several district probate registries were created around the country. From then on, the registries oversaw all grants of probate and letters of administration. This collection is the Calendar of these grants. The Calendar was separated into a different volume for each year. The entries in each volume are then alphabetised by surname. Letters of Administration or "Admons" ************************************* Letters of administration (admons) are granted to give an executor the authority to administer the estate after someone has died. It generally happens when someone dies intestate, although there may be other circumstances. Reasons for Admons: The possibilities when someone dies are summarised below. In cases two and three, a letter of administration will always be granted. Case 1 - Your ancestor leaves a will. Probate is granted to the executors named in the will to administer the estate. There is no letter of administration, and you will be able to find the will. Case 2 - Your ancestor leaves a will. The executors named in the will cannot administer the estate, perhaps they died, or refused to do the job. (Or even, perhaps, your ancestor forgot to appoint executors in his will.) You will find the will with the letter of administration attached. Case 3 - Your ancestor dies intestate or without a valid will. If he or she left a significant amount, a court could appoint people to administer their estate. These were normally the next-of-kin or sometimes creditors. In this case, rather than a will, you would look for letters of administration (admons). Generally, letters of administration contain frustratingly little information. Typically, they include the name, address and sometimes occupation of the administrator appointed. Occasionally, you may be lucky and several family members may be named. This possibility means that it is still worth hunting out an admon. Primogeniture ************* Primogeniture is a system of inheritance where all property is handed down to the first-born son. During the Middle Ages in Western Europe, the oldest son the Lord of the Manor would become the Lord himself upon the death of his father, much in the same way that the oldest son of a king would gain the crown. The younger sons would have to find other careers. When a person died intestate [not having made a will], his personal property, after deduction of the widow's portion, was, under Common Law, divided equally between all of his children but all his real estate [property] went to his eldest son. The military was an option for other sons, another was to acquire a trade. A young woman might look toward marriage in her future, but under Primogeniture they would 'inherit' nothing. Gavelkind ********* Before abolition of gavelkind tenure by the Administration of Estates Act of 1925, all land in Kent was presumed to be held by gavelkind until the contrary was proved. It was more correctly described as socage tenure, subject to the custom of gavelkind. In the form of feudal tenure called socage, or free and common socage, tenants were given land to use in return for fixed quantities of farm products or labour. Later, these obligations took the form of money payments. Under socage, the tenant could not alienate (transfer) his land unless he paid a fee. Gradually, tenants won the right to sell their land or will it to heirs without paying a fee. Under Charles II (1660/85) knight's tenure was abolished. Gradually socage developed into freehold tenure. Finally, in 1925, the Law of Property Act abolished all other tenures. The chief peculiarities of the custom of gavelkind the following: A tenant could pass on part or all of his lands as a fiefdom from fifteen years of age. On conviction for a felony, the lands were not confiscated by The Crown. Generally the tenant could always dispose of his lands in his will. In case of intestacy, the estate was passed on to all the sons, or their representatives, in equal shares, leaving all the sons equally a gentleman. Although females claiming in their own right were given second preference, they could still inherit through representation. A dowager was entitled to one half of the land. A widow who had no children was entitled to inherit half the estate, as a tenant, as long as she remained unmarried. Gavelkind as an example of customary law in England was thought to have existed before the Norman Conquest of 1066, but generally was superseded by the feudal law of primogeniture. Its survival (until as late as 1925) in one part of the country, Kent, is regarded as a concession by the Conqueror to the people of Kent. Borough-English and ultimogeniture ********************************** This was a system of undivided inheritance by which real property passed intact to the youngest son or, failing sons, to the youngest daughter. "Ultimogeniture" was the customary rule of inheritance among unfree peasants, especially in southeast England. Its antiquity is uncertain, but it is first mentioned in the 12th century. "Borough-English" became the accepted legal term for the custom after a famous case in 1327 drew attention to the fact that in the French borough of Nottingham, which had grown up beside the English borough, land passed to the eldest son, whereas in the English borough it passed to the youngest son. As a system of undivided inheritance, borough-English applied mostly to unfree peasants and, like primogeniture, acted to preserve the manorial unit; among free peasants, land tended to pass by equal division among sons and daughters. The custom continued in many rural manors until abolished by the Administration of Estates Act of 1925. Sources: Beeston Shenton money.howstuffworks.com/ www.genguide.co.uk/source/Wills-and-Inheritance www.uk-family-history.com www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ukwales2/hicks3.html www.britannica.com