Court & filings
Get Letters Testamentary
Letters Testamentary are the court document that proves you're the legal executor. You'll need them to do almost anything financial.
- When to do it
- As soon as practical after filing the probate petition.
- Estimated time
- 2–8 weeks from filing
What you’ll need
- Filed probate petition
- Court hearing date
- Bond, if your state or court requires one
Steps
- Attend the probate hearing.
- If approved, the clerk issues Letters Testamentary (or Letters of Administration if there's no will).
- Order extra certified copies — banks, brokerages, and the IRS will each want one.
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Related tasks
- File the probate petition with the courtIf the estate requires probate, you'll file a petition with the appropriate court in the county where the decedent lived.
- Notify creditors and handle claimsMost states require formal notice to known creditors and a published notice to unknown creditors. There's a window for claims, then it closes.
- Order certified copies of the death certificateYou'll need certified copies of the death certificate for nearly everything else — banks, insurers, the court, the Social Security Administration.