§ 52 Letters Of Authority

• •“Letters” are the official court papers that give someone the power to act for another person.
• •For a personal representative (like an executor), “letters” can be letters testamentary, letters of administration, letters of administration with the will attached, or letters of special administration.
• •For a guardian or conservator, “letters” can be letters of guardianship, conservatorship, or temporary guardianship or conservatorship.

A person dies and the court names a relative to handle the dead person's money and property. The court sends that relative a paper called “letters testamentary.”

Because the law says “letters” for a personal representative include “letters testamentary,” that paper lets the relative collect the money, pay bills, and give out what’s left.