OFFICE OF THE CURATOR OF INTESTATE ESTATES
Administering intestate estates with care and responsibility
The Office of the Curator of Intestate Estates remains one of the smallest divisions in the Department of Justice and Border Control. Its purpose is fundamental in the protection of a beneficiary’s right to property and ownership of a deceased person’s property, where the estate of the deceased person has been left intestate or without a will.
WHAT WE DO
The Office is the custodian and distributor of the intestate estates of deceased persons. It is empowered to safeguard and administer the estate safely to the legitimate beneficiaries. Once an estate is published in the Gazette and 21 days has lapsed without any injunction from the court, the Office will release all payments to the concerned beneficiaries.
There are several pending payments due to court injunctions and estates that are yet to be determined by the Nauru Lands Committee.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The Office is responsible for administering the estate of a person who has died intestate leaving real or personal property in Nauru, where:
- there is no spouse or next of kin living in Nauru;
- no application for administration has been made within 3 months after the person’s death; or
- the spouse or the next of kin makes a written request to the Office to do so.
The Office has the power to obtain the probate of the will of a person who has died if the Curator is appointed as the executor of the will.
If, however, a person has died testate leaving real or personal property in Nauru, the Office has the power to obtain administration of the estate where:
- there is no executor of the will, or beneficiary under the will in Nauru who is sui juris; or
- no application for probate or administration has been made within 3 months of the person’s death.
The Office also has the power to obtain administration of an estate, whether there is a will or not, where:
- the estate or any substantial part of it is of a perishable nature or in danger of being lost or destroyed;
- the Curator satisfies the court that the grant should be made to the Curator in order to protect the interests of any of the persons entitled to the estate; or
- the Curator satisfies the court that there is doubt as to the persons entitled to the grant.
OUR TEAM
Brenda Soriano
Curator of Intestate Estates
Febony Detenamo
Clerical Officer
OUR LOCATION
Office of the Curator of Intestate Estates
Department of Justice and Border Control
Ground Floor
Government Buildings
Yaren District
Republic of Nauru