Families inherit houses they have never visited, in cities they have not lived in, occupied by people nobody can name, with documents nobody can find. Often years pass before anyone feels able to deal with it — and by then the position is harder.
We help with both halves of this: sorting out what has been left behind, and making sure that when it is your turn, your own family is not left guessing.
You may not know exactly what exists, where the documents are, who is living there, or whether anyone has started probate. That is an ordinary place to begin, and it is more common than people admit. We start by establishing the facts, without commitment.
Find where to startIf you own property in Nigeria and your family lives abroad, the greatest risk is not tax or title. It is that nobody knows what you own, who your lawyer is, or where the deeds are kept. The Legacy Property File fixes that — alongside, never instead of, a proper will.
See the Legacy FileThree questions. There are no wrong answers, and "I don't know" is a perfectly normal one — it's where most families genuinely are.
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Twelve services. Most families need three or four of them, not all twelve — and we would rather tell you which than sell you the set.
Which route applies depends on one thing: whether there is a valid will. The difference in time and difficulty is substantial, and it is the strongest practical argument for making a will.
| Route | Applies when | Who applies | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| ProbateGrant of probate | There is a valid will | The executors named in the will | 6–12 months if uncontested |
| Letters of AdministrationIntestacy | There is no will, or no valid one | Next of kin, subject to entitlement | 12–24 months disputes are common |
Probate Registry fees in Nigeria are assessed on the value of the estate, and generally fall between 5% and 10% of it. On a ₦100 million estate that is ₦5–10 million payable before beneficiaries receive anything.
Letters of administration usually cost more still, because of sureties, publication requirements and the disputes that intestacy invites. There is no direct inheritance tax in Nigeria, but stamp duty and capital gains tax can arise when property is transferred or sold. Budget for this at the start, not when the bill arrives.
What the process is likely to cost before anything reaches beneficiaries.
If you have been told that custom prevents you inheriting, you should know that Nigeria's highest court has repeatedly disagreed.
This comes up constantly, and families are often misinformed about it.
Nigeria operates three systems of succession side by side — statutory law (the Wills Act, state Wills Laws and Administration of Estates Laws), customary law, and Islamic law for Muslims. Which applies depends on the deceased's circumstances, and customary rules vary enormously between communities.
But customary rules are not unlimited. Where they conflict with constitutional rights, the courts have struck them down:
A family telling a daughter that "custom" excludes her is describing a rule the Supreme Court invalidated more than a decade ago.
Why this matters practically. Letters of administration granted without including everyone entitled can be challenged. Where beneficiary verification is done properly at the outset, families avoid the far more painful and expensive position of unpicking a distribution years later. It protects the family as much as the individual.
And an honest caveat. Having a right and enforcing it are different things, particularly from abroad, and particularly where relatives are in possession. We can establish the facts, verify entitlement and bring in independent lawyers — but we will be straight with you about what enforcement is likely to take.
Most inherited-property disputes are not really about the property.
Contested estate proceedings in Nigeria can run for years — the Ukeje family's case took three decades to reach a final judgment. Meanwhile the property deteriorates, occupants stay, rent goes uncollected or uncounted, and legal costs consume the value everyone was arguing over.
Families also rarely recover. Siblings who litigate against each other over a parent's house often stop speaking permanently. That cost never appears on any statement, and it is usually the one people most regret.
A neutral, facilitated process with an independent mediator — not us taking a side, and not a lawyer acting for one branch of the family.
Almost everything on this page exists because a family did not know what was owned or where the papers were. This is the low-cost, unglamorous fix — a single record your successors can actually find and read.
Nine sections. Switch between them to see what a completed file holds.
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The Legacy Property File has no legal effect on who inherits your property. It does not transfer anything, it does not override intestacy rules, and it does not bind anyone. Recording an intended beneficiary here gives them no entitlement whatsoever.
What it does is answer the practical questions that otherwise take a grieving family months to piece together: what exists, where it is, who holds the documents, which lawyer acted, whether there is a mortgage, who the tenants are, and who you wanted informed.
If you take one thing from this page, take this: make a valid will. The file is designed to sit alongside a will and make it easier to execute — never to substitute for one. We will introduce you to an independent lawyer to prepare one, and we would rather you did that and never used our file than the other way round.
Fixed where we can be, banded by estate value where the work genuinely scales. Probate Registry fees, valuation fees and independent legal fees are separate and paid to those parties.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Estate Discovery ReportWhere most families should start. We locate the property, inspect it, identify who is in occupation, record what documents exist and give an indicative value — so the family is working from facts rather than recollection. | ₦285,000 |
| Title & Probate Document ReviewIndependent legal review of the title chain, the documents held and the probate position, with a written statement of what is missing and what it will take to fix. | ₦395,000 |
| Beneficiary VerificationEstablishing and evidencing who the beneficiaries are, including those a family may have overlooked or excluded. | ₦225,000 |
| Independent ValuationProfessional valuation by a registered estate surveyor and valuer, addressed to the estate. | from ₦195,000 |
| Rent & Arrears InvestigationWhat has been collected, by whom, over what period, and what is documented. | ₦265,000 |
| Family MediationStructured mediation with an independent mediator, up to four sessions, with any agreement properly documented. | ₦550,000 |
| Probate / Letters of Administration CoordinationManaged through independent lawyers, with a visible tracker. Banded by estate value: under ₦50m, ₦50–150m, over ₦150m. Registry fees of 5–10% of estate value are additional and paid to the Probate Registry. | ₦850,000 / ₦1,250,000 / from ₦1,750,000 |
| Division or Sale ImplementationTransfer to a beneficiary, division between them, or a properly run open-market sale. | from ₦450,000 |
| Ongoing Co-owner ReportingOne regular report to every co-owner — condition, occupancy, income, costs. Priced per property, per year. | ₦110,000 / year |
| Secure Custody of RecordsOriginals held under formal third-party custody with controlled release and successor access instructions. | ₦145,000 / year |
| Legacy Property FileAll nine sections, kept current, with successor access instructions. Free for the first year alongside Secure Custody. | ₦35,000 / year |
| Estate Planning & Will ReferralIntroduction to an independent Nigerian lawyer to prepare a valid will, with your Legacy File prepared to support it. The lawyer's own fee is separate. | ₦75,000 |
Where a family needs several services we scope them together and quote once, rather than adding line by line. If the Estate Discovery Report shows the position is simpler than feared, we will say so and you need go no further.
There is no obligation and no charge for this conversation. If you are recently bereaved, we are content to talk when you are ready and to move at whatever pace suits your family.
Including the ones families find difficult to ask.
It is extremely common, and there is no shame in it. Many Nigerians of that generation did not discuss property with children who had emigrated, and documents were often kept informally. The Estate Discovery Report exists precisely for this: we work from whatever you have — an area, a street name, an old photograph, a relative's recollection — and establish what actually exists.
This is the single most common situation we see. The first step is factual rather than confrontational: establish who is in occupation, on what basis, since when, and whether rent has been paid or collected. Families often move straight to accusation without the facts, which hardens positions. Once the position is documented, mediation resolves a good proportion of these. Where it does not, you at least have evidence for whatever comes next.
You should get proper advice, because that assertion is very often wrong. In Ukeje v Ukeje (2014) the Supreme Court held that customary law excluding a female child from her father's estate breaches the Constitution and is invalid. In Anekwe v Nweke (2014) it held similarly regarding customs disentitling widows. Which system of law applies to a particular estate does depend on circumstances, and enforcing a right from abroad takes effort — but being told "it's custom" is not the end of the matter.
Probate on an uncontested estate with a valid will typically runs 6 to 12 months. Letters of administration where there is no will commonly take 12 to 24 months, and considerably longer if contested — the Ukeje case ran for over three decades. Much of that time is registry processing and verification that no service can compress. What we can do is make sure applications are complete and correct first time, follow up actively, and let you see where things stand.
No, categorically. It has no legal effect on who inherits anything. Recording an intended beneficiary in it gives them no entitlement at all. It is an index — what exists, where the documents are, who the advisers are, what is owed and who should be told. It exists to make a will easier to execute, not to replace one. Please make a valid will; we will introduce you to an independent lawyer to do it.
We are usually instructed by one person, and we say so openly to everyone involved. For factual work — locating property, inspecting, identifying occupants, valuation — the output is the same regardless of who instructed us, and we are happy to share it with all beneficiaries. For mediation the mediator is independent of us and of every party. Where interests genuinely conflict, each side should have its own lawyer, and we will say so rather than pretend neutrality we cannot deliver.
There is no direct inheritance tax. However, Probate Registry fees are assessed on estate value and generally run 5–10% of it, which surprises most families. Stamp duty and capital gains tax may also arise when property is transferred or sold. And if you are resident abroad, your own country may tax an inheritance received from Nigeria — that is a question for an adviser where you live.
Say so, and start with the Estate Discovery Report alone. Knowing what exists and what condition it is in often changes what a family decides to do, and sometimes reveals the position is simpler than feared. We would rather you spend ₦285,000 finding out where you stand than commit to a full process you cannot sustain.
Apartments Global Limited is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Probate, letters of administration, will drafting and contested estate matters are handled by qualified, independently regulated Nigerian lawyers instructed to act for you. Valuations are provided by registered estate surveyors and valuers, and mediation by independent mediators. We coordinate and provide factual investigation, records and reporting.
The Legacy Property File has no legal effect whatsoever on succession. It is a record-keeping tool. It is not a will, not a codicil, not a trust, and not a declaration of any kind. It does not transfer property, does not override intestacy rules or applicable customary or Islamic law, and confers no entitlement on anyone named in it. It must never be used as a substitute for a validly executed will and proper estate planning.
Nigerian succession law is plural and fact-specific. Statutory law, customary law and Islamic law may each apply depending on the deceased's circumstances, domicile, religion and the location of the property, and customary rules differ substantially between communities. Case references on this page are provided for general information and are not advice on your estate.
Cost figures are estimates, not quotations. Probate Registry fees are set by the relevant state registry and assessed on their own valuation of the estate. Legal fees, valuation fees, sureties, publication costs and any litigation are additional. Timescales quoted are typical ranges reported for Nigerian estates and depend heavily on the registry, the completeness of documents and whether the estate is contested.
We cannot guarantee outcomes. Where documents are missing, a chain of title is defective, occupants refuse to leave, or beneficiaries dispute entitlement, resolution may be lengthy, expensive or not achievable at all. Where we believe that is the position, we will tell you as early as we can rather than continue billing a process that cannot succeed.
