Department of Administrator General

The Department of the Administrator General is a department of Malawi's Ministry of Justice, in Lilongwe, that administers the estates of people who have died and other trusts. According to the Ministry of Justice, the Administrator General "is responsible for the administration of deceased estates and other trusts by obtaining letters of administration or when the Administrator General is appointed as an executor of an estate". The office was established under the Administrator General Act (Chapter 10:01 of the Laws of Malawi) and is headed by the Administrator General, a public office; the ministry's leadership page names Kondwani Jawati as Administrator General. The ministry states that the office may use District Commissioners as its agents in providing deceased estate administration services, and may also appoint other persons or bodies to act for it. It describes the Administrator General as an important institution in the devolution of property "in a country where the majority of the people die intestate". The Ministry of Justice provides legal advice and services to government ministries, departments and the public. It represents the Government of Malawi in civil litigation, prosecutes criminal cases, drafts legislation and vets agreements and treaties. Letters of administration are a court's authority for a named person or office to collect a dead person's assets, pay the debts and distribute the remainder to those entitled; a person who dies without a valid will dies intestate. Inheritance in Malawi is governed by the Deceased Estates (Wills, Inheritance and Protection) Act of 2011. Lilongwe has been Malawi's capital since 1975. The ministry gives its physical address as Capital Hill, the complex of national government institutions in the city's Area 20. The department's page on the ministry website gives the ministry's general contacts: Private Bag 333, Lilongwe 3; telephone +265 1 788 433; email enquiries@justice.gov.mw. Opening hours and fee scales have not been published online.

Ministry of Justice, Capital Hill, Lilongwe, Malawi
Lilongwe

13°58′52″S 33°46′4″E