Government of Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica. The Administrator-General’s Department (AGD) will this year launch a national public education campaign on estate management.
The announcement was made on Wednesday, July 11 during a meeting at the Ministry of Justice’s head office where the AGD’s Strategic Plan was signed and presented to the Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck.
Minister Chuck in endorsing the initiative said all Jamaican adults should know about the services of the AGD, especially making a will. He emphasized his commitment to play his part to increase awareness of the services of the Department.
“When a person makes a will, it leaves no doubt as to how the assets can be disposed of. We have a problem in Jamaica with “dead lef” [and] it has created many [challenges]. I will continue to assist in whatever way I can with promoting these services because no longer should dead lef be a problem,” he said.
CEO/Administrator-General, Mrs Stacie-Ann Carty shared that the campaign will seek to address the current knowledge gap among many Jamaicans about the AGD.
“There is a gap in the population on what we do and how we can help them and the services that we provide at the Department, for access to justice. We want to ensure that the public knows what we do and how the Government can assist them,” she said.
The AGD administers the estates of persons who die intestate, that is, without a will and protects the interests of minors, beneficiaries and creditors as mandated by law.
It has a property portfolio of more than 3,800 properties island-wide with an estimated value of J$50B. Additionally, the Department currently manages cash assets of over J$3B designated for the beneficiaries of the deceased estates.
