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Justice Minister Delroy Chuck
Relatives of people who have died without leaving wills are being encouraged to contact the Administrator General's Department (ADG) to administer those estates with personal properties valued at up to $1.5 million.
Justice Minister Delroy Chuck explained that with the Gazetting of the Administrator-General's (Maximum Value of Small Estates) (Amendment) Order, 2024, relatives can avoid hefty legal fees in claiming the personal properties of their deceased loved ones.
"So you have monies left in the bank by a person who has not made a will, for the person to get a lawyer, to take out a couple hundred thousand, it doesn't make sense. But what happens now, if they go to the Administrator-General's Department, they issue an instrument of administration, may charge a 5% [or] whatever the figure, I don't know the percentage. And in no time, the [money] can be retrieved from the bank or a car transferred to a member of the family," he pointed out.
The Justice Minister was addressing Thursday evening's meeting of Parliament's Standing Finance Committee considering the 2025/26 Estimates of Expenditure.
In the meantime, Mr. Chuck has called for attorneys with outstanding claims for the provision of legal aid services to make their submissions before the end of the current fiscal year.
Minister Chuck said $50 million remains unclaimed from the $460 million allocated for the provision of the service for 2024/25.
"We spent $410 million out of the $460 million. So we have about $50 million. So attorneys who still have certificates, put them in, because we don't want you to hear about the Ministry of Justice owes anything," he urged.