Letter of direction for estate

The Letter of Direction is often required when a person has passed away and the Power of Attorney must make certain decisions on behalf of the deceased.

The Letter of Direction can take various forms, and generally the estate lawyer can help you with the Wording required.

The Power of Attorney (POA) becomes the Administrator when someone dies and the finances of the deceased are generaly frozen in an estate account held by the lawyer untl the Letters Probate are released by the court. If the account requires a Letter of Probate (because it is a large amount of investment and property) (most of the time these are needed), then the Administrator will have to wait till this clears the legal system and the lawyer notifies you that the Letter Probate is available. Let

Often the Lawyer will make themselves available to handle most of the affairs, but a good Administrator who is careful and responsible can do much of the necessary paperwork, with suggestions from their lawyer (and save a few dollars for the estate in the process).

In order to settle an estate account, the administrator should send in:

1) Notarized copy of the Letters Probate (contact the lawyer who did this for the estate) along with
2) Write a Letter of Direction signed by the Administrator(s) with signature(s) guaranteed.
- this will simply be titled Letter of Direction for the Estate of Joe Blow
- the address to whom the letter is directed
- include investment numbers, account numbers, the dollar amount
- who the cheque(s) should be payable to (i.e. cheque should be payable to the Estate of Joe Blow
- Address of where the cheque should be sent (usually the administrator's address would where the cheque can be sent) (if the lawyer handles it, and has the appropriate authorization, the lawyer can send the Notarized copy of the Letters Probate, and then the trust company will/can contact the Administrator (former Power of Attorney).
- Make a line for the Administrator to sign _______________
- Make a line for the guaranteed signature (bank
- Sign in the presence of guarantor (bank, financial organization, or lawyer)

3) Write up a Cover letter with the contact name and phone number and address of the estate's Executor/Administrator, and what you are attaching (Notarized Letters Probate and Letter of Direction, and any other attachments that may be needed)

4) It is also helpful to send a copy to the lawyer for the estate record.

There are various ways of writing Letters of Direction, but the most important thing is that the person who is the Executor should write up the document, and sign it in the presence of a qualified guarantor (bank, notary, etc.) as they are the official legal contact of the estate.

An Executor must be trustworthy and able to handle the affairs in a prompt and careful manner.