Senior Multimedia Reporter
joshua.seemungal@guardian.co.tt
Inefficiency, inadequate staffing and other issues have been affecting the Probate Registry.
That is the common theme from irate citizens following a Sunday Guardian exclusive last week which revealed that there is an approximate delay of six years in processing probate matters at the Judiciary of T&T.
The people, most of whom asked to withhold their identities, said for too long they have been suffering due to these inefficiencies.
“While probate moves at its snail-slow pace, families are denied access to much-needed funds for day-to-day medical and educational expenses. Bank accounts and funds remain inaccessible. Properties and cars remain in limbo,” said an individual whose family has been waiting for five years for a matter to be processed.
“It should also be noted that some of the delays may also be due to attorneys’ errors in filing. I have often wondered why the Law Association has not dealt with this issue as a matter of urgency.
“The registry is there to ensure legal rights, and we should demand that they do so on time. Instead, what we have endured for years and years is a denial of rights to finances and property. We have accepted this as the norm for far too many years!”
Another person frustrated by the process said: “It’s a serious issue that my family is going through right now, and they really need to do something about it. My dad died three years ago, and I was doing paperwork up to yesterday (last week), and my stepmother is just so frustrated.
“These people do not realise how much this adversely affects people’s ability to participate in Property Tax mandates because if your stuff is tied up in probates, letters of administration processes, and you can’t access the resources to meet the demands of property tax issuances, how are people going to figure this out? It is honestly ridiculous.”
A woman whose family’s estate only consists of cash in the bank to be divided among herself and five other siblings, said while she has not been severely impacted due to her having a comfortable salary, some of her other siblings have been left struggling financially.
“One lost her job of 14 years due to COVID-19 and has been struggling since with unemployment/very low-paying jobs. Banks are calling every day concerning outstanding loans. A brother, who has retired, and has been waiting almost two years for what is due to him, with a school-age child and rent to pay.
“One brother and sister live off their NIS pensions and one brother, who does random jobs, saw a drying up of jobs during and even after COVID. He has to wire his house but is unable to do so until he gets that money. I made loans to a couple of them based on whenever the estate is settled, so I am out of pocket until then.
“The question is why has this been allowed to continue? Why has it gone on so long without any intervention? I am sure they have numerous meetings, so the subject of best practice never came up?” she complained.
She said after initial documents were filed with the Probate Registry, the office had some queries which they needed to answer. After answering them, the probate notice was issued in early 2020.
“I went to collect the Letters of Administration a month later, only to be told that they had four more queries. It usually took months to check documents filed, but I was shocked when it took approximately seven months one time and more shocked when it took 13 months. I was told that the grant was approved and typed but just waiting on a final document. This document was filed about two weeks ago, and now they are saying that it is by the assistant registrar. Something is seriously wrong with the system,” the woman lamented.
Trinbagonian and Canadian citizen William Greene has been waiting for the outcome of the probate process for the estate of his deceased sister and father since 2011.
“In 2011, when I discovered that she had a bank account at a local branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia, I retained a local attorney to apply for her estate. I supplied all the necessary documents including her birth certificate, her death certificate, my birth certificate and our parents’ marriage certificate. All these documents are in the possession of the Probate Registry in file (which he identified but omitted).
“In that same year, I applied for my late father’s estate–proceedings are S92 of 2011. I obtained a letter of administration on September 10, 2012. Because I had been out of the country regularly when I finally relocated to Trinidad in 2019, I discovered that letters of administration were still outstanding.
“The delay was caused due to the query regarding my father’s middle name in all the documents submitted to the Probate Registry. My father’s full name is Allan Annisette Greene, as shown on my birth certificate. However, someone in the Probate Registry recorded that my father’s name is Allan Annesite Greene. Despite visits and emails to the Probate Registry, the department keeps insisting that my father’s middle name is ‘Annesite’. The impasse continues for yet another year, and I am still waiting to get letters of administration of my sister’s estate,” Greene said.
Another person, Carl, said whenever he requested a status update, he was asked to provide more information.
“More information requested means more attorney fees for filing supplements. I’m currently at the point where the attorney and filing fees are almost more than the assets on the probate. My attorney keeps apologising for the ineptness of that department. Mind you, this is a simple probate ... no property involved. Just a few shares of stocks and a few dollars in a bank account and there are no claims from anyone else,” he said.
LATT says it’s working with Judiciary to find solutions
Last week, the Sunday Guardian reported, based on a Freedom of Information request to the Judiciary, that there are 14,915 pending probate matters as of October 2023.
Between August 1, 2020, to July 31, 2023—7,690 probate matters were completed. With 7,690 probate matters completed in the 1,095 days between August 1, 2020, and July 31, 2023, it works out to around seven probate matters being completed a day.
Responding to questions last week, the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago said it was aware of the delays in the issue of grants by the Probate Registry of the High Court of Justice. The association said it held discussions with the Judiciary to identify the issues and implement solutions.
